The World Through The Eyes Of A Muggle Born
by notbang
Summary: My name is Lily Evans. This is my life. It wasn’t easy. It was hard as hell. But it was worth it. *IMPORTANT NOTE!*
1. Prologue

~*~ The World Through the Eyes of a Muggle Born ~*~  
  
~You think you know me ~But you're wrong ~Don't abuse me deep down I'm ~Too strong ~For You ~And I swear I will show you ~All ~What I've got ~I am who I am ~Won't be afraid ~To hold my head ~Up high ~Won't be what I'm not ~I am who I am ~That won't change ~You thought you had me ~But now try ~Another day ~Coz now I'm gonna show ~I can finally say ~I'm proud, so proud ~To be me  
  
~*~ Prologue ~*~  
  
~The world can be so different ~When viewed through different eyes ~So many things that hide ~That only I can see  
  
~People can be blind ~Just to ignore it all, but see ~How it's so different for me ~The things others suffer  
  
~They don't know what it's like ~For anyone like who I am ~So many who can't a give a damn ~Or won't  
  
~That's why I'm asking you to see ~See the things that I can see ~Feel it all, what I can feel ~And see ~See it through my eyes  
  
~Tell me what you're thinking ~Now do you see it to ~Feel the world that I live in ~Think what I do and now ~See it through my eyes  
  
My name is Lily Evans. This is my life. If somebody tried to tell you it was easy, or simple, or that it was all perfect and meant to be, and that I had always been an everyday girl without a care in the world - somebody lied. Because it was hard as hell. But it was worth it.  
  
Up until my eleventh birthday, you probably could have gotten away with saying those things. I was happy - or, at least, content. I had minor issues and problems, but everybody does, don't they? I was a carefree little kid. I wasn't growing up in the happiest times. There was a war going on, and it effected everyone in some way, I guess. I was probably only just reaching the age of understanding then, when it all began to mean things. When it became reality. Not actors on TV with pretend guns. It was real.  
  
I lived in Surrey, with my older sister, Petunia, and my big brother Dale. I remember my seventh birthday. Petunia was ten; Dale was fifteen. He was a nice brother. Couldn't have asked for someone nicer. He bought me a huge purple gorilla for a present. I still have it.  
  
The day after my birthday, he received a letter in the post. He'd been in the army cadets for about four years by then. He went away about a week after that, and I never saw him again. I understand now that he'd gone away to war, of course, but I was too young to really understand then. All I remember is that day my mother received a letter in the mail and she cried for hours. Nothing was really the same after that.  
  
My father probably went to war, too. A lot of the men did. I wouldn't know for sure, though. I never saw my father. We lived with our mother alone, Petunia and I. The person I had always thought was my dad had died of cancer the year before. He was a great dad. Always playing with me, telling me stories, buying me lollies. But deep down, I always knew I was different. Not blonde and brown eyed, like Petunia and Dale, like mum, who had brown eyes, or dad, who had the blonde hair in his family. No one really spoke of it, though. That's all it was to me, I was just different. It never really occurred to me that I was different in that way until I was about ten. Petunia was thirteen then, and was at that age where she was interested in boys, and make-up, and gossiping behind other girls's backs. Her brain started to tick then, and she came up with some terribly nasty things to annoy me with.  
  
She tried telling me I was adopted. I didn't believe that; even if I did have green eyes and red hair I did look remarkably like my mother. I had her nose, her eyes - well, the shape, anyway - and that couldn't have been a coincidence. Petunia became really snotty around that age. Always being horrid to my mother and me. My mother said it was just the terrible teens and that she should start to settle down. But Petunia was downright nasty to my mother behind her back.  
  
I knew Petunia couldn't be right, of course, but it got me thinking. It was coincidence that I decided to pull out one of the old photo albums that day. It also just happened to be one from around the time I was born. Folded up in the front pocket was my first discovery. A letter. From a Mr Logan Evans. My supposed father. Dated eight months before I was born. It was a brief letter; explaining how he missed everyone a lot and that he would be home soon. That the chemotherapy was like hell. That he was sorry he hadn't been home for Christmas. That four months was a long time to be away from your family and he hoped that he'd be home within the next few weeks, even if it meant busting out of the hospital.  
  
It didn't take a genius to notice that it was logically impossible for this guy to be my father. Unless I was severely, and I mean severely, overdue. However, I was actually two weeks premature so it really didn't fit. I turned the page, and let out a gasp. Luckily I was in my room, because I would have felt awful if my mother had seen what I was doing then. I had gasped because of one of the photos, you've probably realised. This particular photo was of a man. I didn't recognise the face itself, but one thing really grabbed me. Those eyes. I knew them from somewhere. Then it hit me. Of course I knew those eyes; I saw them every bloody morning when I looked in the mirror. They were my eyes.  
  
You see, I'm medium height, which is weird, because everyone else in my family is extremely tall. This guy looked a bit short. I have bright emerald eyes. Cat's eyes, I call them. And red hair. My mother always told me it was Irish blood. Never occurred to me she's not Irish. This guy probably was. He had black hair, but maybe further back...  
  
The caption under the photo read one name. Tom. Looking closer I see the photo is signed, in the bottom left corner. T.M.R. - With love. Hmm. With love, huh? Why didn't he stick around? Or maybe he went off to war. But where had he been for nine years? And my mother was married! Not very faithful on her behalf, if you ask me.  
  
Oh well. I slammed the book shut and shoved it under my bed. Come to think of it, it's probably still there. Then I did what I always did when I was confused - I went to Joey.  
  
Joey Taylor-Clark was my best friend in the whole world. I had lived next door to her forever. We'd been friends since we were one year old, because our parents met in some clothing store and started talking about nappies and somehow a friendship developed. Nappies, huh? You never would have guessed, but that friendship was built on a foundation of nappies.  
  
When I discovered that photo album, Joey and I had been best friends for nine years. We were in our final year of our particular level of school, and next year we would be going to Stonewall Academy. We already had our uniforms; neat, pleated grey skirts, white blouses and long socks that came up to our knees. Joey was pretty. She had dark brown hair that, in the right light, could be mistaken for black. Beautiful caramel eyes framed by long, mazing dark lashes. She had a wonderful smile. I always thought she was going to be a superstar one day. She was so gorgeous, yet she didn't 'use' it. She was tomboyish; always in boy's t-shirts and jeans, her hair always tied back in a sloppy ponytail. And the horses. Joey was horse crazy. It drove me nuts, but I patiently listened to her babble on about them. She was my friend, after all.  
  
'Hey mum, I'm going to Joey's, OK?' 'Sure honey. Tell her mum I said hi.' My mum was always like that. Pretty cool and relaxed.  
  
I nervously straightened my hair as I knocked on the door to the Taylor/Clark household. I remember always doing that - like a ritual. One day I had gone their and Joey's dad had opened the door. He scared the hell out of me. He was really big and menacing. He actually refused to let me see Joey until I brushed my hair! Luckily, he was always out. That day, Joey's mum answered the door. 'Hello, Lilian dear. How are you?' 'Fine thanks, Mrs Taylor. Is Joey home?' 'Of course. She's up in her room. Go straight up.'  
  
I thanked Mrs Taylor and ran up the stairs to Joey's room. 'Hey, Kanga! You home?' I called, knocking on her door. Joey threw the door open. 'Lily!' 'Joey!' I mocked, acting just as surprised. She grinned at me and pulled me inside her room.  
  
I loved Joey's room. It was full of lava lamps and fibreoptic lamps, disco and mirror balls, bead curtains, streamers, and all sorts of colourful things suspended from the ceiling. Most of all, I liked the fish tank. It was embedded in the wall, and had some sort of light inside that made it look like the water was changing colours. And the fish! She had about twenty fish - all beautiful tropical ones with long, rainbow fins and large eyes.  
  
She had posters everywhere. At the moment they were of horses, but I wondered how long it would last. Only a year ago she had been obsessed with dolphins. She had a four poster bed with gorgeous red satin hangings and lacy drapes. Pillows in the shapes of hearts, moons, stars, clouds... I never got tired of exploring that room.  
  
'Hello. What did you want? Anything in particular, or did you miss me?' Joey laughed. 'I missed you. Actually, I needed someone to talk to.' 'What about?' 'Well, I don't want to talk about it in particular. I wanted to talk about something else and get my mind off it.' 'OK, cool. How does horses sound?' she grinned evilly at me and I groaned. She knew that I didn't particularly like her many pony friends.  
  
'Not good,' I said, crinkling up my nose. 'I know. How about... your birthday! It's like, next week!' I nodded my head, and we spent the rest of the day planning an extravagant party filled with ball gowns and crystal chandeliers that I had no hope of affording. If was fun, but. 


	2. Change

~*~ Change ~*~  
  
~It's all changing ~The world that is around me ~It's leaving me behind ~Moved out of what I know ~It's all changing ~Altered into something new ~Turning into different times ~No time for me to grow  
  
~It's all changing ~Everyone all around me ~I feel like I'm not a part ~Like I'm not meant to be ~It's all changing ~Morphed to new dimensions ~Everybody is so changed now ~But I'm still me  
  
My birthday was fun, I guess. Petunia was off shopping with her friends, thank god. It wasn't a big party, just me, mum, Joey, Joey's mum, and three of my friends from school. Elizabeth was quiet and shy. Conservative, always playing by the rules, hair always pulled neatly back in those same pig tails, forever soft spoken and gentle. She was the one that understood anything. If you wanted sympathy, she was the one to go to. Liz had blonde hair the colour of cornsilk that looked almost white. Beautiful blue eyes that looked lavender when she wore certain colours. I'd only known her for a little while, but she came with the gang.  
  
René was awesome. I'd known her the second longest out of my friends. We met in detention at school. Yes, I got a detention. For somehow managing to cover a boy who was teasing me in bright orange paint. I know why that happened now, but we'll get to that later on. Anyway, René was a really fun person to be around. She was a dare devil, risk-taking type. She was forever dying her hair. It was naturally a really light, soft brown colour - but it was nearly a different colour everytime I saw her. Reds, burgundies, purples, blues - she even tried lime green once. And she was always trying new styles. Up, down, afro, braids, plaited, straight, frizzy, curly, wavy, down past her waist, halfway up her back, just past her shoulders, up in a bun. She managed to look great no matter what. Everyone loved René. You couldn't help it.  
  
Then there was Melody. There was only one word I could ever use to describe Melody. Beautiful. And she was. She had long, straight raven hair that hung around her waist. Pretty, petite features. Stunning green/blue eyes framed by dark lashes. Curvy pink lips. Everything about her was long and slender. Her voice was beautiful, too. Made you feel like dancing. It was a coincidence about her name. But boy could she sing! Melody loved animals. She had a dog called Ralph and a pig named Wilbur. Millions of fish, birds and so on. I loved going over her house almost as much as I liked going into Joey's room.  
  
Anyway, to tell the truth, the party wasn't that exciting. We mostly sat in my room and talked while we played Go Fish and Poker, which René's dad had taught her. After awhile we got sick of that though and besides she kept forgetting the rules, so we played War and Crazy Eights for a bit instead. Then we had cake and Liz, René and Melody went home. We all said a really big goodbye to Elizabeth because she was going to another school and we probably mightn't see her again. Not that I was complaining. I never really liked her that much. Then it was just Joey and me. That's how we liked it best, when it was just the two of us. We giggled and talked about things that only best friends can talk about. We messed around with each other's hair, pretending we were famous hairstylists from Paris. It might seem rather childish, but we enjoyed it. It didn't matter what anyone else thought.  
  
Joey was sleeping over that night. Her mum went home after dinner and we went back up to my room again and made up our own versions of Poker. Talked some more. Resorted to Go Fish. Talked some more. Drew funny pictures of our old teachers. Talked some more. After awhile we got really bored so I suggested we go watch a movie. Mum made us some popcorn and we watched Superman. 'Oh no! I hope he doesn't die!' I pretended to gasp when Clark Kent fell off a cliff. Joey laughed. 'You're right! Where would the world be if Superman died?' she asked in mock horror. 'I don't know,' I giggled. Joey placed a hand to her head and closed her eyes with a dramatic sigh. Lois Lane screamed because she just realised what had happened to Clark. 'He'll live. He always does,' I sighed after awhile. 'This is TV, Lily. The hero never dies, remember?' I laughed. When we were little, Joey and I used to love a little cartoon about super hero vegetables. We liked it so much that one day Joey's mum bought her a video of one of the episodes, and we practically learnt it off by heart, the whole thing. During the movie one of the vegetables appeared to have died but he came back at the end and the last line of the movie was, 'The hero never dies'.  
  
After Superman we watched the news for the sake of staying up longer. We weren't really paying attention to it but if my mum thought we were actually absorbed in it she might let us stay up until it finished. Our plan worked pretty well.  
  
'Boys,' Joey said in disgust as a story came on about a guy who had ditched his girlfriend just because someone better came along. We looked at each other and grinned, starting up one of our favourite clapping games, starting slow and gradually getting faster.  
  
'A boy is a useless thing that is always a total bore They knock you up then dump you down and say that you're a.... Horses, horses, white pony's fun to race and ride Better mates than boyfriends who want you to open... Wide hips just come naturally I swear to God it isn't flub If any loser tells you otherwise then he's just a plain old ... 'Scrubbing at the kitchen floor the maid she finds a rat No way in hell my boy can treat me blind like a... Batting on the baseball field our team's colour's red Stupid crummy players that want to get you in their... Bed time, bed time, beauty sleep can really work Don't matter what your boy may think coz guys are total jerks.'  
  
My mother came in at about ten and told us we should probably be getting some sleep. She turned off the light but that didn't stop us. We talked right into the night, falling asleep mid-conversation. Who cared? We didn't have to go anywhere the next day. We could sleep in as long as we wanted.  
  
Except for the next morning. We were rudely awoken at roughly six thirty by a bird screeching outside my window. An owl to be exact. I told it to get lost in a not-so-polite way. It didn't seem to care and continued scratching and pecking at my window. I got up, crossed my room, and opened the window to yell at it. However, the minute I lifted the glass, the stupid thing flew right in. 'Aaaahh!' I yelled. Joey rubbed her eyes and sat up. 'What the hell... ?' she asked, throwing back the covers and coming over to inspect the owl, which was happily sitting on the foot rail of my bed. It extended a foot, to which a letter was attached. 'Well? Are you going to open it?' Joey demanded. I cautiously accepted the letter, tore it open, and read it aloud. The piece of parchment read:  
  
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY  
  
Headmaster: Albus Dumbeldore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)  
  
Dear Miss Evans We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term Begins on 1 September. The Hogwarts Express leaves Platform 9 3/4 at 11 O'clock sharp. We await your owl.  
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress  
  
'Ummm,' was all I said. Me and Joey just stared at the paper in her hands. 'Joke?' I asked doubtfully. 'I don't know. Would you go through all that trouble to get an owl for something like this?' Joey asked, examining the paper. 'You're right. But... me? A witch?' 'I've always known you were a witch,' Joey said solemnly, and I hit her playfully. 'No, seriously. What are we going to do?' 'Well... what do the other papers say?' 'One's a ticket... for the Hogwarts Express, to depart platform nine and three quarters of the King's Cross station at eleven o'clock.' 'There is no platform nine and three quarters,' Joey scoffed. 'I know.' 'What does the other one say?' 'It's a book list.' 'Oh.'  
  
We continued staring at the paper. 'Are you going to tell your mum?' 'Definitely not. She'll think I'm bonkers.' 'You are bonkers,' Joey giggled. 'Hey! Well, maybe I should tell her. Come on.'  
  
We marched downstairs. My mum was busy with breakfast. I decided this was an excellent time to approach her, as she would be preoccupied and in her most rational state of mind, if you ask me. I can get her to agree to anything when she's occupied like that. 'Morning, mum,' I said hesitantly, hovering behind her. 'Hi Lily dear. Sleep well?' 'Yeah. Um...' Joey was encouraging me from the doorway. 'I, um... got a letter this morning.' 'Oh really, dear? Who from?' I glanced down at the letter. 'Erm, Minerva McGonagall.' There's silence for a moment. 'I'm sorry, Lily. Who?' 'Minerva McGonagall.' 'Oh! That was nice of her to send you a letter. Do I know her?' 'No. That's the thing, mum - neither do I.'  
  
'Well why is this girl sending you letters if you don't know her?' she asked, clearly confused. 'Er, well - maybe you should read the letter. It um, it came by owl.' 'By what?' 'By owl. As in, the letter came tied to the foot of an owl that was screeching outside my window and woke us up this morning.' My mum looked up from making breakfast and ran a hand through her hair. 'Give us a look.' I handed her the letter. She read it, and Joey and I exchanged glances. Joey was rocking on her heels. I crossed my fingers behind my back.  
  
I could barely imagine it. Me! A witch! How cool could it be, knowing magic? A million thoughts were running through my head. The pranks I could play on the boys from school, the tricks I could impress everyone with. I'd never have to clean my room again! My mum was frowning, and I smiled hopefully at Joey, who looked just as anxious as I felt. 'Lily, where is this owl?'  
  
If I was expecting anything, it wasn't that. 'Er, I left it in my room. I don't know if it's still here,' I said, looking at Joey out of the corner of my eye. 'Can you go see if it's still there please?' 'Ummm, okay,' I said, and Joey and I slowly walked out of the kitchen and upstairs. 'How cool would it be if you were a witch?' Joey whispered excitedly as soon as we were out of earshot. 'Very cool!' I giggled back.  
  
I opened the door to my room. The owl was still on my bed. Tentatively, I extended my arm and to my surprise, the bird hopped on right away. Joey grinned at me and we dashed back into the kitchen. By now, Petunia had come downstairs and was sitting at the table. 'What's with the bird?' she asked snootily. We all ignored her. My mum looked surprised to see the owl. She had probably thought I had made it up or something. 'Well,' she said. 'It says 'we await your owl'. So, we'll write back and see what they say,' she said, nodding her head as if she were saying this to herself. She took out a pen and paper and sat down at the table.  
  
To Whom It May Concern, We have received your 'owl' and are slightly reluctant to believe the information you have sent us. As we have had no experience with magic of any kind, we hope you do not take offense in us requesting more details.  
  
If this is indeed not a prank of some sort, we would also require directions to Diagon Alley, as named in your booklist, and the Platform 9 3/4, as we had no idea of its existence prior to this date.  
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Marie Evans Mother of Lily Evans  
  
'Right,' she said, folding it and placing it in an envelope. 'That should sort them out if it's a prank. If not, well... we'll deal with that if it arises.' Petunia was watching this all with a sour look. I noticed this and poked my tongue out at her. She scowled and looked down at her Cornflakes.  
  
Mum attached the envelope to the little clip on the owl's leg. 'Go and let it out of your window, dear - if that's where it came in.' I nodded and Joey and I walked right back up the stairs again.  
  
'What do I do with it?' I asked Joey. She shrugged. 'I don't know. On TV they sort of flick their arms up, like this and they fly off,' she said, flicking her extended arm up slightly. 'Right.' I moved to the window and leaned my arm out of the window. 'Take this to... to whoever sent you here,' I told it. I don't think it understood me, but it was worth a try. 'Off you go.' I flicked my arm like Joey had suggested, and the owl flew off. I let out a big sigh and fell back on my bed. Joey sat down on my inflatable chair. 'Weird,' she muttered. 'Tell me about it.' 'But how cool would it be? I mean, if you were a witch, think of all the things you could do!' 'All the pranks I could play!' I grinned back. 'The revenge you could get!' 'The tricks I could do!' 'Your mum wouldn't have to cook, you could just magic stuff up!' 'Yeah,' I sighed, laying back on my pillow and smiling.  
  
Right then, I had decided it must have been a prank. How could I be a witch? Boring, plain, cat-eyed, Lily? It was fun imagining all those things though. Whoever had sent that letter had at least given us a laugh. We talked about it for ages, Joey and I. Thinking of deadly potions and love spells and turning certain people into toads. That's all it was. A joke. Until the owl came back.  
  
When we first heard the squawk, we thought it must have been a bird outside. Then it got louder. And the owl landed on my window sil. Joey and me went quiet and exchanged looks. What was this letter going to say?  
  
I let the owl in, and took the message from it's foot. I unfolded the piece of parchment. It was in different writing this time; a long, scrupulous script done carefully in red ink. I knew it couldn't have been a pen by the way the lines stained the paper. This letter had been done by quill.  
  
Dear Miss Evans We are sorry for troubling you with information that is obviously quite foreign to you. We however would like to express that this is no joke and that we would greatly value your input into our school. Magical children born into families with no wizarding blood is extremely common in today's society. I can only imagine your doubts and please feel free to ask any questions that could make this any more processable for you.  
  
Diagon Alley can be accessed several ways, the most common being through a pub found in London that goes by the name of the Leaky Cauldron. As for the train platform, this can be found by simply walking through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. I know this may seem unrealistic, but I speak truth.  
  
If it would assist you in anyway, I could perhaps arrange a meeting with a wizarding family nearby. Please contact me and I shall arrange it immediately. Perhaps then they could assist you in finding Diagon Alley, Platform 9 3/4 and such. They should also be able to explain magic a lot more deeply than I can discuss by letter.  
  
Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries; the owl awaits your command. I hope this may have cleared a few things up for you.  
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Albus Dumbledore Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
  
'Joey, what the heck do we do? How do we know it's not a trick?' 'Go take the letter to your mum,' she pressed. So, off we trotted for about the fiftieth time that day I was sure we must have worked off a couple of pounds going up and down those stairs. 'Mum!' I yelled. Petunia glared at me from the couch, and I ignored her. 'Yes, dear?' Her voice came from the laundry, so Joey and I made our way up the passage. 'The owl came back,' I said, giving her the letter. She frowned, and read it. 'Well. This is all very hard to believe,' she sighed. 'But it all seems so sincere. Maybe we should agree to this meeting with another wizarding family?' I nodded. What else was there for us to do?  
  
So mum took out another piece of paper and her pen and wrote back to the Headmaster. Me and Joey took the owl outside and let it go again. Then we sat down under a tree. 'I wonder what they'll say next?' 'Yeah,' I muttered.  
  
The rest of the day passed very normally. Until about dinnertime, that was. Joey and I had convinced our parents into letting her sleep another night. Secretly, we both just wanted to be together if another letter came. Hours flew by and no owl came. We were just finishing dinner, in fact, when something out of the ordinary finally happened. The doorbell rang.  
  
We never have visitors. OK, so we do, but it's a big rarity. And who comes around dinner time anyway? My mum sent me to answer the door, and she didn't say anything when Joey snuck out after me. We exchanged thumbs ups and I took a deep breath and opened the door. Standing on the step were three people; a pretty girl that looked about my age, a boy that was possibly a few years older, and a kind looking lady. 'Hello, you must be Lily!' she cooed, extending her hand. I shook it. 'My name is Mrs Mornington. This is Jessica, and Nicholas. Is your mother home?' 'Yeah, I'll go get her...'  
  
Joey and I walked very slowly back into the dining room. 'Um, there's a lady and two kids there. Mrs Mornington, she said. She wanted to know if you were home,' I rattled off. Mum nodded and followed us to the front door. 'Mrs Evans!' Mrs Mornington exclaimed immediately. My mother smiled timidly as the woman continued raving. 'Professor Dumbeldore asked us if we could, ah, drop by. He said you wanted a few things cleared up.' My mum's eyes opened wide. 'Yes. Please come in side!' The three Morningtons shuffled inside. 'Why don't you dears run off and play, hmm?' asked Mrs Mornington. 'Jessica is your age, Lily dear. Nicholas is twelve. Oh, who's your friend?' 'My name's Joey,' Joey said confidently. 'Pleasure to meet you,' the lady smiled in return. My mum turned to me. 'Lily, why don't you show everyone the garden? It's a lovely evening outside. Can I interest you in some tea, Mrs... Mornington, was it?'  
  
So mum and Mrs Mornington went into the kitchen, and Joey and me directed Jessica and this Nicholas outside. 'So,' I began. 'My name's Jessica,' said the girl politely. 'I'm a witch, too. It's my first year this year as well. Nick will be in his second.'  
  
Jessica looked like a bit of an air head to me. She had frizzy auburn hair and foggy blue eyes. Her teeth were perfect, all straight and dazzling white. At that moment she was wearing a grey dress. Usually, I would find that a very boring colour, but it was almost as if she wore it for a reason. The plainess of the dress seemed to make her features more noticeable.  
  
Nick had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes that were almost black. His hair was spiked, and bleached blonde at the tips. He looked like he had an echidna on his head. I liked it. Joey seemed to, too, as she gave him a coy look and began to talk shyly with him. 'My name's Lily,' I told Jessica, seeing Joey and Nick go sit on a bench a few metres away out of the corner of my eye. 'So, you're really a witch? We thought it was a joke!' 'Well, I guess I would have, too, if I were a muggle born.' 'A muggle born?' 'Non-magical family. But my whole family is magic. My mam is a witch, and my pup's a wizard. I've grown up with magic.' 'So it's really happening? This is so cool.' Jessica nodded. 'I've waited forever to go to Hogwarts.' She gave a dreamy sigh. Yep. Definitely an air head. I looked over at Joey, who was flirting her pants off with Nick. OK, maybe the pants metaphor wasn't the best example to use, but she was really toying with him. He was going along with it, too - he didn't seem to mind having an extremely beautiful girl chatting him up and I didn't blame him. It looked like better fun than small talking with Jessica the ditz.  
  
I knew Joey wasn't interested in him. She never was. She loved stringing guys along for fun - but she never took it any further. She wasn't interested in boys whatsoever. Not then, anyway. She just found it amusing how some guys literally threw themselves at her feet. We had great fun, the two of us - singling out guys and making them think they'd gotten lucky and then moving on to the next boy before anything happened. Mean, I know - but they were too young to really get hurt by it. Just a bit of wounded pride.  
  
An hour later, my mum and Mrs Mornington came out. We all politely said goodbye and Mrs Mornington left and took her kids with her thank god. 'Well, Lily. It looks like you're going to Hogwarts! Imagine it! A witch in the family!' Petunia mouthed 'freak' at me from behind mum's back. I mouthed back 'bitch' and she shut up. Joey and me were so excited. The next day I would be going to Diagon Alley with the Morningtons, and Joey was allowed to come too. It would be so cool.  
  
Up in my room that night, Joey told me about Nick. 'He's such a loser!' she giggled. 'He was making all this stuff up to make me think he was so cool. I asked him if he cold show me some magic but he said you're not allowed to do it outside of school. And even grown ups can't use it front of muggles or what ever it is they call us. It was so weird, but how cool is it?' 'I know. But we won't be going to school together now,' I sighed. Joey smiled and rolled over onto her stomach. 'Yeah, but we'll see each other on the holidays. And you can write to me! How awesome will it be, I'd love getting a letter by owl! It would be far out!' 'I promise I'll send you lots of owls,' I said solemnly, saluting her and trying not to giggle. We stayed silent for awhile. 'It's hard to believe this is all happening. I mean, my best friend - a witch. I'll miss you so much!' 'I'll miss you more. At least you'll have René and Melody.' 'Yeah, but they aren't you,' she sighed.  
  
I knew what she meant. It was like me and Joey were meant to be best friends. We never got on with anyone as well as we did with each other. It felt weird doing things with other people. We practically lived at each other's houses. I think Joey was more of a sister to me than Petunia was. As much as I knew to ignore her when he called me a freak, it still hurt my feelings.  
  
'Yeah...' I replied, sinking into deep thought. Being a witch would be cool, but Joey meant a lot to me. Joey sat up and wriggled closer to me, where I was laying on my bed. She had been lying on the floor. 'Friends forever, right?' she asked. 'Right,' I said firmly, and hooked her pinky. 'Pinky promise,' we said together. 'Jinx!' I giggled. 'Oh, you'll be knowing much better jinxes than that when you come home for Christmas,' she said evilly, grinning and rubbing her hands together. 'Think what we can do to Sam!'  
  
Sam van Loon was a boy that had been in me and Joey's class since prep school. I happened to think he was rather cute, but my liking for him stopped there. Ever since first grade, when he had stuck bubblegum in Joey's hair, we had hated him. We were constantly tormenting each other, and using a few curses on Sam would be very sweet revenge.  
  
'Except we can't do magic outside of school,' I pointed out. Joey looked downcast. 'Damn. Hey, you realise I have to put up with him for a whole year all on my own now? No fair!' 'Suck,' I laughed at her, throwing her a magazine. I picked one out for myself and we began to leaf through them. 'I'll bet the boys are worse at Hogwarts. And there'll be heaps from wizarding families!' 'Yeah, you better be nice to them. They'll probably know magic already, and you don't know what they'll do to you!'  
  
I laughed. Joey didn't notice me watching her until she looked up from her magazine a minute or so later 'Gods, Joey. I'm going to miss you like hell.' 'Hell and back again,' she added. 'I'd only make that trip once and that would be for you,' I murmured. 'And don't you know that is the truth.' 'So don't use that 'again'.' 'I swear you've broken me too much.' 'But it was worth it, worth it.' 'And I'd go to hell and back, for you.' 'But there's only once I'll make that trip.' 'And though there will be no 'again'...' 'I'd make that trip for you,' I smiled, finishing the verse. It was one of Joey and me's favourite songs. 'Come here,' Joey laughed, tears in her eyes as she pulled me into a hug. 'We've got two weeks, I know... but I miss you already,' she grinned. 'Like hell?' Joey pulled back and messed up my hair with her hand, grinning at me from under the long strands of brown hair hanging in her face.  
  
'Hell and back again.' 


	3. Until We Meet Again

~*~ Until We Meet Again ~*~  
  
~Wait for it ~They say it ~Requires patience it ~Takes time it ~Involves work it ~Needs you to strive it ~Wants you to take it ~Wait for it  
  
'Write me! Write me, Lily Evans, or I swear I'll never speak to you again!' Joey yelled shrilly from the platform. I leaned out of the window of my compartment on the train and grinned. 'I'll owl you, Joey Taylor! Owl you or die trying!' Joey was running beside the train as we slowly chugged away from platform nine and three quarters. She blew me a kiss and I blew one back, grinning and waving like mad. 'See you for Christmas!' I yelled. 'Don't forget me!' 'Bye! Bye! Bye! Goodbye, Lily Evans!' She gave up trying to keep up with the train and slowed to a stop. I could still see her waving in the distance as the station grew smaller and smaller. 'Bye!' I called back, waving. When the station disappeared, I leaned back into my seat and sighed, closing my eyes.  
  
I was nothing short of scared. The only people I knew out of the hundreds that were probably on that train were Jessica and Nick, and somehow I couldn't picture myself hanging around with those two. Besides, I'd done some reading, and had read most of my set school books, which I had picked up in Diagon Alley. Which, might I add, was the coolest place I had ever been. Me and Joey, and, unfortunately, Jessica, had spent the day exploring it, meeting up with our parents for lunch. Jessica and I had opened accounts at the Gringotts bank. We had bought our school supplies. I even had my own wand; willow, ten and a quarter inches. Dragon heartstring.  
  
Well, back to the books - along with my set book list, I had picked up a copy of a rather interesting looking volume called Hogwarts: A History. Through this I had learnt that Hogwarts had four houses; Gryffindor, for the brave and ones that valued friendship and courage and such; Ravenclaw, for the studious, witty and organised; Hufflepuff, for the loyal and trustworthy, hardworking and, from the sound of it, air heads; and Slytherin, for power hungry, sly and cunning folk. Slytherin didn't sound like a very pleasant house, and I didn't particularly like the sound of Hufflepuff, either. Gryffindor sounded the nest, although I supposed Ravenclaw didn't sound too bad. But I was very sure that Jessica Mornington would be a Hufflepuff. Nicholas was a Ravenclaw, but that didn't mean she would be, did it? She looked like she'd never picked up a book in her life.  
  
I was disturbed from these thoughts, however, when the door to my compartment slid open and four boys ambled in, talking loudly. '- did you see the look on her face?' '- almost had smoke coming out of her ears...' '- probably thought it was the train or something...' They didn't seem to notice I was there, so I cleared my throat quietly. They suddenly realised my presence. Two of them jumped. 'Oh, sorry - we didn't realise you were in here. We just usually sit here, that's all. Are you a first year?' one asked. I nodded, my voice failing me. 'We can go if you want. We just like to have a compartment to ourselves and every other compartment has someone in it. Do you mind if we stay?' I shook my head and stood to leave, but one of the boys grabbed my arm. I turned and looked up into his face. He had deep, blue eyes shining behind a pair of round glasses, and incredibly messy black hair. 'You don't have to go. Sit back down. Unless, of course, you particularly want to go somewhere else,' he shrugged, releasing my arm. I sat back down, and so did the boys. The one who had grabbed my arm took the seat next to me.  
  
'My name's James Potter,' he said. 'Lily Evans,' I said quietly. 'My name's Romeo Mercutio Benvolio Tybalt -' The boy sitting next to the one rambling off half a dozen names elbowed him sharply before smiling at me. He had light brown hair and a tried face. 'You forgot Juliet,' he told the boy before turning to me. 'His name is actually Sirius Black. He just has an identity crisis every now and again.' Sirius Black grinned sheepishly. He had a neat head of black hair and friendly grey eyes. I gave a small laugh, and the tired-faced boy introduced himself as Remus Lupin. 'My name's Peter,' said the fourth, smiling shyly. He was rather round, blonde, and had watery blue eyes. 'We're second years,' James told her conversationally. 'We were all really scared at first on our first day, but there's nothing to be afraid of.' 'Sirius even felt comfortable enough to go swimming in a freezing cold, dark, deep lake that happens to be the home to a giant squid in the middle of the night.' 'Hey, I did not! James pushed me in!' Sirius Black protested.  
  
I smiled. These boys seemed quite nice. 'What house are you in?' I asked. 'Gryffindor,' James said proudly. 'We've won the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup for twelve years in a row.' 'With no thanks to us,' Sirius snorted. 'Come on, James makes up for all the points we lose,' Remus pointed out. 'Through Quidditch and getting good marks in everything.' Maybe Gryffindor wouldn't be as good as it seemed, if these four were always losing points. Yet if it still managed to win... Working up some courage, I decided to join back into the conversation. 'Which meant, that if you didn't lose points on top of that, you could be winning by a whole lot more,' I told them. 'Wouldn't it?' Sirius whistled. 'We have a smart cookie on our hands, James.' James seemed to search my face for a moment before smiling and leaning lazily back in his chair. 'Excellent point. Except, we don't get anything more if we win by lots of points. Therefore, what's the point in restricting our pre-teen rebellious urges when we don't need to? As long as we're leading, we can have as much fun as we like. If we were to fall behind in points then, yes, we would look out for how many we lost. But technically speaking, I doubt that shall happen.'  
  
I smiled admiringly at him for a moment. 'That,' I said. 'Is a good point.' 'So was yours,' he shrugged. 'Who knows, Lily Evans. Maybe Gryffindor will have somebody else keeping our total up this year.' I could feel my cheeks go pink. I could feel James still watching me and turned away. My eyes fell on Sirius. 'So, Romeo Mercutio Benvolio Tybalt -' 'Don't forget Juliet,' interrupted James with a grin. 'Sorry - Romeo Mercutio Benvolio Tybalt Juliet. Do you read Shakespeare, or is that just a one off?' 'Probably just a one off,' Remus grinned, watching Sirius think of a smart answer. 'Shakespeare?' he asked, a moment too late. 'Who's Shakespeare? I made up those names!' I laughed again. These boys definitely were amusing if nothing else. 'Yeah, and I'm Helga Hufflepuff,' James cooed in a ditzy voice.  
  
'You told me yesterday that you were You-Know-Who!' whined Sirius. James and Remus rolled their eyes. 'I always say 'and I'm the Queen of England'. Who's You Know Who?' I asked. Sirius blinked at me. 'You don't know who You Know -' 'Are you a muggle-born?' James interrupted. 'Yeah,' I nodded. 'Are you guys all full wizards?' 'I am,' said James. 'And Remus is. Peter is a half-blood. Sirius is a half blood too, but he lives with muggles.' He leaned back, hands behind his head, and closed his eyes. 'Cool,' Sirius muttered. 'Yeah - I didn't know who You Know Who was either. Sorry, it's just that he's so big, you forget that not every one knows about him.' 'You Know Who is a Dark wizard,' James explained, not opening his eyes. 'His real name's Voldemort, but most people are too afraid to speak it.' 'He's not the worst wizard ever, but he's bad. And he's getting worse. A few people dead every fortnight. No one can catch him. They reckon if they don't get him under control soon he might get worse and worse, even worse than Grindewald,' Sirius rattled, taking a bite out of a chocolate bar he had produced. I had no idea who Grindewald was, but nodded. As if he had read my mind, James opened his eyes and looked at me. 'Grindewald was another bad wizard. He was defeated in 1945.' 'By Dumbledore,' Peter added. I jumped slightly. I had completely forgotten his presence. He seemed to have blended into the wall he was so quiet.  
  
Just then, the compartment door slid open and another two boys walked in. One was blonde-haired, had cold eyes and looked several years older than me. The other one had greasy hair and dark, beetle-like eyes, and looked to be a second year, like the boys. 'Got yourself a girlfriend, Potter?' sneered the greasy haired one. I narrowed my eyes at him, slightly nervous. I'd stick up for myself, but I didn't really want to cause trouble. 'Shove it, Snape,' James spat, crossing his legs. 'Going for the younger ones now, are we? And the rumours. All along the train, they've been saying she's a muggle born. Daddy won't like that, will he, Potter?' the blonde one smirked coldly. 'Daddy can take a hike. And she's not my girlfriend. But if she were, I'd say she was a much better choice than those two-faced bitches you date, Malfoy,' James growled. 'Ooh, sticking up for her, but she's not your girlfriend? Who is your girlfriend, then? She must be getting jealous.' 'What do you care? You obviously don't seem to get along, so why should you be concerned with who he chooses to date?' I asked the one called Malfoy coolly. 'Shut up, mudblood. Noone asked you.'  
  
What happened next I was never entirely sure. All I knew was that none of the four boys I had originally shared the compartment with seemed to like whatever he had called me. Sirius's, Remus's and Peter's faces contorted with rage, whereas James lunged at Malfoy, grabbing the collar of his Slytherin robes and slamming him against the door. 'What did you call her?' Snape's eyes flicked from the looks on the boys's faces to the door. He didn't seem to want to mess with them. 'I called her a mudblood,' Malfoy leered at James, who punched him in the face. Malfoy looked surprised, but took up glaring at James as he pulled open the compartment door and shoved him out into the hallway. Malfoy fell over his own feet onto the floor. 'Ten points from Gryffindor, Potter - for questioning a Prefect,' he sneered. 'School hasn't began yet, Lucius Malfoy,' James said icily, pushing Snape out after his comrade. 'If it had, I'd be speaking to McGonagall about you being stripped of your Prefect's badge. For prejudiced discrimination and use of foul language against a fellow student. Now get the hell out of here.' With that, he slid the door shut and fell back into his seat, positively seething.  
  
I got the impression that anyone who messed with James Potter wasn't up for an easy time. 'Stupid slimy Slytherins,' he muttered. 'What did he call me?' I asked meekly. James grumbled something incoherent, so Remus decided to explain. 'He called you a mudblood. Which is a really foul name for someone born into a non-magical family. It means dirty blood, and it's a really spiteful thing to say. Probably the most offensive thing anyone could call someone. Usually only Slytherin slime like them use it.' 'I used to get it all the time,' Sirius told her, still frowning fiercely. 'Even though I'm not a muggle-born, but they didn't know that. But you show them that you won't put up with it, Lily. You let them walk all over you then you might as well go back home, because you'll get it everyday for the rest of your time at this school.'  
  
'You're pretty quick with the retorts, Evans,' James told me once he seemed to have calmed down. I shrugged. 'I was fine then. You guys were already putting them in their place. I don't know how I'd be on my own. In the past I've always done it as a team with my best friend. She was great at coming up with pranks; I made them work. I guess on my own I wouldn't be half as good. I'm a teamwork kind of person.' All four boy's seemed to brighten up when I mentioned pranks. 'Did you say pranks? We love pranks. Me and James came up with some beauties last year. And we had some good ones as a group, too,' Sirius added, seeing Remus raise an eyebrow.  
  
'We should change into our robes,' James said suddenly. I must have looked slightly alarmed, because he grinned at me. 'We'll go outside while you change call us in when you're done, then you can go out while we get dressed.' I nodded, and all of the boys filed out of the compartment to stand in the aisle.  
  
I quickly pulled off my sweater and slipped into a T-shirt before putting on my robes. Then, running a brush through my hair, I called the boys in, making for the door. 'You know, you can stay if you want,' James grinned, and I gave him a mock horrified look before smirking as I pulled the door shut. 'Get your mind out of the gutter, James Potter.'  
  
I decided to have a stroll up the corridor and see if maybe I recognised anyone. After all, if the whole wizard thing was a secret, who knows which of my friends from school were magic? Walking up the corridor, I ran into a girl who looked about my age, who was having a heated exchange with Snape, whom I recognised from our compartment. '- hanging around with the likes of you -' '- watch how you talk to me, Figg -' '- take a hike! I don't care! Oh, sorry!' she said, when she backed into me accidentally. Snape probably recognised me, because his eyes narrowed maliciously. What I didn't expect was for him to turn around and leave without saying anything. What I did expect was for him to shoot some insult at me, but he didn't. He left.  
  
'Idiot,' I muttered under my breath. The girl that had been arguing with him smiled at me. 'He is so annoying! I'm Bella, by the way. Arabella Figg.' I analyzed Bella as I shook her hand. She had wavy black hair that fell just below her shoulders, and green eyes that were slightly darker than mine. She had a friendly smile, and her manner seemed nice enough. And she didn't appear to like Snape, which was something we definitely had in common. 'Lily Evans,' I told her. 'Oh, you're the muggle born, right? They've been talking about you up the train. They said Lucius Malfoy came back from your compartment with a black eye, very wounded pride and a slightly different view of muggle borns.' I laughed. 'Well, the black eye was courtesy of James Potter. All I really did was tell him to mind his own business.' She grinned. 'Well, it takes a lot of guts to stand up to Lucius Malfoy, girl. You've earned my respect.' 'Somehow I don't think I would have been quite as confident if I didn't have four Gryffindor boys on my side,' I said honestly, knowing only how true it was. 'Still,' she laughed. 'Anyway. What house are you hoping to be in?' she asked as we subconsciously made our way back to my compartment. 'Gryffindor, I guess. Although Ravenclaw doesn't sound too bad,' I shrugged. 'I'd like to be in Gryffindor. How awful would it be to get in Slytherin? Just having to put up with Snape and Malfoy would be bad enough!' I grinned at her and knocked on the door to my compartment. 'Finished yet?' I yelled through the door. 'Unfortunately, yes. You're too late,' grinned James, pulling back the door. Bella and I walked in.  
  
'This is Arabella Figg. Bella, this is James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.' 'Hello,' the boys chorused. 'Hi,' said Bella shyly.  
  
Although the boys had swapped seats, the only remaining places were still both next to James. Sighing, I sat down next to him, and Bella sat on my other side. As she did so, a very loud and rude noise was emitted. 'Bella!' accused Sirius with mock disgust. All four boys cracked up laughing and Bella stood up to reveal a whoopee cushion. 'You guys!' I giggled. 'What?' asked James innocently, staring down at me with twinkling eyes. 'Stuff you, Potter,' I grumbled jokingly. He pretended to be offended. 'Take that back!' demanded Sirius, playing along by pretending to wave an imaginary sword around. 'Fine. Unstuff you,' I laughed.  
  
'Ooh she's good!' squealed Sirius, howling with laughter. 'She is so good!' Remus said something and he and Sirius fell into a deep conversation regarding come-back queens of the century. James shook his head in amusement. 'You're not bad, Lily Evans. Not bad at all. Not many one-up James Potter.' 'So you said before,' I said musingly, sticking a finger through the cage of an owl that seemed to belong to one of the boys. The bird hooted softly and nibbled my finger. It was a lovely deep crimson red, almost the colour of blood. And it had bright yellow eyes and a shiny bronze beak. 'That's Garnet,' James told me, leaning forward in his seat. 'She's pretty,' I told him. 'She's very pretty,' he agreed, but he was staring at me as he spoke. I blushed (nasty habit of us redheads) and self consciously tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. He watched me a moment longer, then leaned back again. 'I got her for Valentines Day from Sirius,' he laughed. 'She's supposed to be the perfect owl for sending letters to your beloved. Do you think he has the hots for me?' James asked me seriously, although I could tell he was trying not to laugh. 'Oh yes,' I agreed. 'It is extremely obvious that Sirius has a crush on you.'  
  
He smiled wryly. 'I've never used her for her designated purpose,' he said quietly, staring deeply into my eyes again. I blinked and looked away from his eyes. 'I can imagine Sirius had something rather devious in mind when he gave you that owl,' I invented, not knowing what else to say. 'Oh, of course he did. He made sure everyone knew it was my owl. Then he started to ask to borrow her all the time, which I agreed to. I didn't get suspicious until I had all these extremely irritating girls coming up to me and thanking me for chocolates and roses and such, and that they recognised my owl and how silly it was of me to send them anonymously when everyone knew my owl. I then nutted out that Sirius had been sending 'love from your secret admirer' letters to all the girls he knew I disliked with my owl. Rather ingenious plan.' I was amazed at his attitude towards it. If someone had done that to me, I would have been slightly annoyed.  
  
'Do you fancy any girls?' I blurted out. 'Oh, here and there my male hormones take over and I seem to fall head over heels in love with a girl, but it usually wears off after a day or two. But the next time it happens I'll be swearing that it was completely different to last time,' he laughed, shrugging. 'Stupid fantasies. I'm really too young to be thinking about that very seriously yet. But I'm a people person. I either hit it off straight away with someone, or not. I rely on first impressions, and most people believe I'm an excellent judge of character when my love life isn't concerned.' 'What's my character, as you see it?' I asked him smugly, crossing my arms and leaning back into my chair. He quickly accepted the challenge. 'Well, when I first met you, I saw an individual. You're different. Friendly, fun-loving, responsible. You have values and stick to them. You were slightly worried because it was your first day, and you were muggle born and didn't know much, but there was something else. Another reason why you felt unsure about going to Hogwarts. I don't know what that reason was, but there was one. What was it?' I gaped at him for a moment. 'I'm leaving a friend behind. A very close friend, that I spend practically every minute of my days with. And now I'm not going to see her hardly ever.' He nodded.  
  
'How about you?' he asked. I stared blankly at him. 'Sorry?' 'How about you? What did you think about me?' 'Oh.' I thought for a moment. 'When you first walked into the compartment, I wasn't shy, like I thought I would feel. Because you boys brought a comfortable aura with you. I was a bit scared still, though, because you were older and I didn't know you. When you grabbed me by the arm and told me to stay, I... I don't know. I felt like... like I had known you all my life. As if we were old friends.' I laughed. 'I know it sounds silly, but that's how it felt. Right about now, I think you're smart, popular, funny, respected...' I scanned over him, as he listened intently. 'You play sport...' He nodded. I decided to try and go deeper, like he had done. I searched his eyes, looked back at his entire manner and reactions, the way he spoke... 'You have a lot to live up to,' I said slowly. 'You act like you don't really care what others think, but deep down, you really want respect. Sometimes, you wish you were someone else.' Whoa, I thought to myself. Where had that come from?  
  
His eyes had slowly widened as I had spoken that. 'You are very intuitive,' he said finally, as if he had been searching for the right words and had been unable to find them. 'So were you,' I shrugged. 'You... were easy to read,' he said eventually, then shrugged as well.  
  
'So. What about me, you two?' Bella piped up, after watching us both intently for a few seconds. She had a mischievous glint in her eye and although I hadn't known her long I could sense that she was going to give me a hard time about James once we were alone. 'Ooh! Let me do it! Let me do it!' Sirius squealed, joining back into the conversation. 'OK then,' Bella said, bracing herself for something ridiculous. 'Right. You are really, really hot, and all the guys think you are really, really hot. You look great in hot pants and miniskirts, and in low cut or spaghetti strapped tops and dresses. And if Sirius Black asked you if you would maybe want to do something together sometime, you would most definitely say yes,' he rattled off smoothly. 'Slick, Sirius - slick,' James murmured as Bella laughed. 'I don't know about the first part, but you couldn't have been more correct with the second part.' Sirius, looking extremely pleased with himself, smiled lazily and leaned back, closing his eyes. Bella and I hi-fived each other just as the train came to a slow stop.  
  
We all moaned good-naturedly and gathered our things. James and I were last out, just behind Bella - who was talking animatedly to Sirius. 'Nice meeting you. Hope to se you in Gryffindor,' James whispered in my ear before walking out the door. I smiled and followed him out. 


	4. Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor

~*~ Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor... ~*~  
  
~I'm nervous ~I guess it shows ~Can't make my mind up ~Where I want to be ~Where I belong ~I suppose it doesn't matter much ~As long as I'm with you  
  
~Wishing upon a star ~Preying to the gods above ~Hoping with all my heart ~Fingers crossed as always ~Wonder if luck is on my side ~But you know that I'll be there ~Waiting with baited breath  
  
~Wonder if it worked ~Guess I'll never know ~Whether it was me or not ~Could have just been fate ~If it is I like destiny so far ~Cause my wish has been fulfilled ~I think I'm glad that Im with you  
  
~Wishing upon a star ~Preying to the gods above ~Hoping with all my heart ~Fingers crossed as always ~Wonder if luck is on my side ~But you know that I'll be there ~Waiting with baited breath  
  
'Firs' years! Firs' years over here!'  
  
I quickly caught up with Bella, who was farewelling Sirius. Honestly, the two had only just met and they looked heartbroken at being separated. It would only be for about ten minutes while the first years were sorted. I found it rather stupid, especially seeming as it was beginning to rain, and I was getting quite wet waiting for her. Besides, the giant that was calling the first years looked like he was ready to leave. 'Come on, Bella!' I cried, grabbing her hand. She laughed and waved over her shoulder at Sirius as I dragged her along. 'This is awesome!' she breathed as we ran through the rain to catch up with the other first years.  
  
'Right,' said the large giant. He was quite tall, with warm, black eyes and a fuzzy black beard. The minute I looked at his face I got the impression he was a very kind and friendly person. 'Now. I'm Rubeus Hagrid, and I'm the keeper of the keys and grounds at Hogwarts. It's my job to take you younguns up to the castle. Firs' years, traditionally, travel to the castle by boats across the Lake. Unlucky for yers that it's rainin'. All your school mates get ter go in carriages, the lucky ducks. Yes, well. Best be gettin' up to the castle before yers all catch cold. Four to a boat! N'more than four! Right, in yers all hop!'  
  
I was still holding hands with Bella as we made a mad dash for a boat. We ended up with another girl, and a boy, which Bella didn't seem to mind. 'Hi. My name's Arabella Figg,' she told him. I elbowed her and whispered 'Sirius' in her ear, but she ignored me. 'Ian Brockelhurst.' 'Reilly Oaks,' the girl added. Reilly Oaks was rather small, and had her golden brown ponytail of hair was pulled back in a careless way that reminded me of Joey. She looked like the sporty type, slender and fit. Despite the fact that her damp ringlets of hair were plastered along her back and face because of the rain, she was quite pretty in a way. 'Lily Evans,' I smiled at her. She smiled back. I looked over at Bella to see her flirting non-stop with Ian. I rolled my eyes. In my opinion, we were too young to be bothering with guys. And stringing them along had been losing its fun for awhile now. Most of the guys had been in that 'girl germs' phase for a couple of years by now and didn't really want anything to do with us. Either boys in the wizarding world were different, or there was just something about the people I made friends with.  
  
I didn't speak during the trip. I stared blankly out over the dark black water, tuning in and out from Bella's nervous chatter. I smiled at how quickly we had hit it off. I had a feeling we were going to be best friends. As I thought that, I felt a funny jolt in my stomach. What about Joey? She was my best friend. She had always been my only best friend. I sighed. I supposed it was alright to have other best friends. After all, I was sure Joey would make another best friend, considering she wouldn't be seeing me that much. Then my thoughts turned back to how bad I felt, leaving her behind. 'Hey, Lillers. Time to get into the nice, warm castle, honey,' Bella tittered, waving her hand energetically in front of my face. I accepted the hand she offered me, and let her help me out of the boat. I let out a shiver and pulled my cloak around me as we made for the castle.  
  
Hogwarts was enormous. We all crowded into the Entrance Hall, dripping wet. A stern looking witch walked brusquely towards us. 'Check it out, Lily. The wicked witch from the west!' Bella giggled. I elbowed her when the witch looked sharply in our direction. 'Right. My name is Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House. You are all a bit wet, but there's not much we can do about that for now. Shortly, we'll go into the hall, and you'll all be sorted. When I call your name, go and sit on the stool and put the hat on your head. Follow me.'  
  
I pinched Bella, who had been taking to a guy and hadn't heard a word Professor McGonagall had said. 'Ow! Prat,' she laughed, pinching me back. 'Come on, we have to follow her,' I sighed, grabbing her arm and dragging her along. We scrambled into the Great Hall and immediately ceased our pinching war. The Hall was full of people. We all straightened ourselves up and pretended to brush off our clothes as we walked up the front, where a ratty old hat was sitting on a three legged stool. Suddenly, the hat seemed to clear its throat and began to sing.  
  
'Listen to me carefully I have a story to tell Though some of you already know This certain tale quite well  
  
Once upon a long ago I was a normal hat Until my owner gave me brains And put an end to that  
  
He was one of four sorcerers Who shared the same idea They began a school named Hogwarts Which is why this castle's here  
  
Each had different virtues Values and a varying point of view Thus the separate houses Now to choose the one for you  
  
Godric started Gryffindor Where belong the lions brave They share the purity of heart And for courage they crave  
  
Rowena began Ravenclaw The studious and sharp minds For with their wit and logic They can read between the lines  
  
Helga was from Hufflepuff And valued justice true They enjoy hard work and Like to try things that are new  
  
Salazar, the Slytherin Held ambition and resource Cunning runs through their blood And power is their source  
  
So what is my job you may ask now And I'll answer you this I have to go through and sort you So my advice isn't something to miss  
  
The way I do this follows on You place me on your head Then I'll tell you it is in which house That you will rightly tread.' When the song finished, the Hall applauded, so we all joined in. McGonagall gave a small smile and a clap then took out a roll of parchment. I glanced at Bella out of the corner of my eye. She didn't seem to look nervous. I certainly was.  
  
'When I call your name, please take your place on the stool. Aaronmore, Kelsey!' 'GRYFFINDOR!' A loud cheer erupted from Gryffindor table. Kelsey smiled and ran over to the table and took a seat. 'Brockelhurst, Ian!' 'RAVENCLAW!' 'Bateson, Emma!' 'HUFFLEPUFF!' 'Denver, Luke!' 'HUFFLEPUFF!' 'Douglas, Jason!' 'SLYTHERIN!' 'Evans, Lily!'  
  
Bella squeezed my hand and showed me her other hand, fingers crossed. 'Gryffindor,' she mouthed. I nodded and squeezed her hand back, then walked up to the stool. Almost hesitantly, I placed the hat on my head. 'Hmm, I thinker, yes. Very practical, excellent sense of logic. Definite Ravenclaw material.' 'Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor...' I chanted silently in my head. 'Gryffindor, eh? Yes, a great value of friendship. And great courage. A thirst to prove yourself, too. Slytherin could do you well...' 'Not Slytherin!' I whispered, horrified at the very thought. 'Yes, well... Gryffindor? I suppose it suits you well enough, so, GRYFFINDOR it is.' I breathed a sigh of relief as more cheers broke out from Gryffindor table. I pulled the hat off my head. 'Go Lily!' whooped Bella loudly. I grinned and gave her a thumbs up as I made my way to where the Gryffindors were sat. 'Hey, Lily! Over here!' I looked over to where the voice had come from and saw Sirius Black waving wildly. I waved back and walked over. Sirius immediately moved over to clear a space between him and James. I sat down.  
  
'Welcome to Gryffindor,' Sirius said, shaking my hand enthusiastically just as McGonagall called, 'Figg, Arabella!' I crossed my fingers under the table. 'Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor...' 'GRYFFINDOR!' bellowed the hat. Bella threw off the hat with an enormous grin and ran over to sit with me as we all cheered and clapped. 'Yay for Bella!' yelled Sirius, whistling loudly. As soon as she was close enough, I hi-fived her. 'Why, hello again ladies,' Remus smiled as she took a seat on Sirius's other side. 'Hi, Remmie,' Bella grinned. James smirked. 'Oooh, Remmie,' he cooed, pinching Remus's cheek. Remus swatted his hand away.  
  
'Oaks, Reilly.' 'GRYFFINDOR!' 'Mornington, Jessica.' 'HUFFLEPUFF! 'Livingstone, Dave.' 'SLYTHERIN!'  
  
We clapped politely for Reilly as we continued the conversation. James turned to me. 'That hat's a bit of fun, don't you reckon?' 'It is a bit clever,' I shrugged. 'If you thought that was clever, wait until the food arrives,' he laughed. 'Did someone say food?' Sirius asked, the story he was telling immediately forgotten. 'Nope. Sorry to disappoint,' I told him, seeing James give me a look that clearly said that not mentioning food would be wise around Sirius. 'Once he gets started he'll never stop,' he murmured. I grinned. 'Sounds a bit like Sam.' 'Who?' James asked curiously. 'Oh, no one. Just a boy I... know,' I said. 'Oh? A friend, huh?' he asked, seeming to be attempting to hide his interest. Being as young and naive as I was, I simply thought he was trying not to be nosy. Never occurred to me that James Potter might be JEALOUS. 'Yeah,' I nodded. 'I've known him for ages.' 'Good friends?' James asked. 'Oh, I wouldn't say that.' James's mood seemed to dampen a little after that conversation, but I didn't particular notice.  
  
'So,' I asked him, putting my elbows on the table and placing my chin in my hands. 'Who are we crushing over at the moment?' James scanned around the room. 'See that girl, over there?' he asked. A followed his gaze to the Hufflepuff table, where a pretty girl with gorgeous blonde hair was talking to someone I recognised as Nicholas Mornington. I supposed James liked her for her looks, which annoyed me a little. Why didn't guys ever think about what was on the inside? However, I didn't really think it was any of my business so a giggled a bit when I noticed the way James was staring at her. 'Take a picture, it'll last longer,' I laughed. James grinned and snapped out of it. 'Her name's Tara Bailey. She's seeing that guy next to her at the moment.' 'Nick?' 'You know him?' 'Yeah. He's Jessica's brother. We met a week or so ago.' James nodded. 'He's pretty popular.' 'So are you, Jamsie boy,' Sirius said, squeezing James's cheek like James had done to Remus. 'Knock it off, grandma,' James drawled, and Sirius immediately let go, looking horrified.  
  
Sirius quickly involved himself in a different conversation and James turned triumphantly back to me. 'Who does Miss Evans like?' You. What the hell? Did I just think that? 'I don't know anybody.' 'Who do you find, 'absolutely charming', as you would no doubt put it?' 'Oh, Sirius definitely tops the list,' I said seriously, although I was joking. James looked shocked. 'Joking! He's Bella's, anyway,' I said. I gestured towards the pair, and James followed the direction. Bella was leaning her head on Sirius's shoulder sleepily while they talked. 'But he is cute,' I added slyly. 'And what about moi?' James demanded in mock outrage. 'Definitely not!' I replied in mock horror.  
  
He raised an eyebrow. 'You're not too hard on the eyes,' I admitted. 'Ha,' he said, self-satisfied. 'Ha yourself.'  
  
Just then, a tall man with a greying beard stood up. He looked very extravagant in purple robes and cloak, and a rather funny looking hat on his head. 'That's Dumbledore,' James said, obviously seeing me looking at him. I nodded as Dumbledore began to speak. 'Greetings, students of Hogwarts, and a special word of welcome to all our first years. We hope you enjoy your time at Hogwarts. I won't keep you long from your food, however; just a few words. The caretaker, Mr Filch, would like everyone to be aware that rapid-grow cobweb spray had been added to the list of banned items. Anyone wishing to view the list is inviting to visit Mr Filch's office.' All four boys snorted, and I got the impression that no one would really set foot in Filch's office if they were threatened with a three foot poker. 'You are also reminded that the Forbidden Forest is, in fact, as unbelievable as it is, Misters Black and Potter, forbidden.' James and Sirius shared a mock surprised look. 'Reeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaally?' they drawled loudly. Everyone laughed. 'We go through this every year,' James told me. 'You've only been here one year,' I pointed out. 'Hmmph,' mumbled James. 'Do you now that you are far too smart for your own good?' 'No,' I replied, folding my hands in my lap as Dumbledore cleared his throat. 'Quidditch tryouts will take place within the next few terms.' 'Yes!' hissed James and Sirius, hi-fiving each other. 'Going to try out?' I asked. 'But of course,' James said smugly. 'You know what Quidditch is?' he asked suspiciously. I rolled my eyes. 'I have done some reading, Mr Potter.' 'You're alone, there.' 'No one ever died from reading a book.' 'Yeah, but you'd hate to be the first.'  
  
'Now, dig in!' Dumbledore said happily. He clapped his hands and plates of food dissolved into view on the tables in front of us. 'Wow,' I finally managed, after gawking at it for awhile. Bella grinned at the look on my face. 'Cool, huh?' she asked, helping herself. After staring for a moment more, I followed suit. Out of the corners of my eyes, I watched James and Sirius pile up their plates with enough food to feed twelve elephants. 'Hungry?' I mused. 'Poking fun at my eating habits, skimpy?' James asked, raising an eyebrow. I let out a snort. 'I am definitely not skinny, Potter,' I laughed. And I wasn't. I wasn't terribly overweight, but I was pretty well-built. Muscles, as I fantasized. 'Nah, you're just right,' he agreed. 'Not anorexic, which is always a good thing.' 'Yup. And I suppose you're just a growing boy?' 'Yup.' 'I see.' 'Yes, I can imagine you would. You do possess eyes, after all, and you haven't yet mentioned being blind,' he replied, spooning a pile of potatoes into his mouth. 'Probably because I'm not.' 'Fi kfan sgee phat,' me mumbled through a mouthful of food. 'Your powers of speech seem to have deteriorated very quickly.' 'I had my mouth full,' he said, rolling his eyes. 'I said, I can see that.' 'Yes, I can imagine you would. You do possess eyes, after all...' I grinned slyly. He shook his head. 'You're not bad, Evans. Not bad.' 'Fank oo,' I answered, my own mouth now full. 'Your powers of speech seem to have deteriorated very quickly...' he trailed off, smirking. I hit him on the arm. 'Stuff it, Potter.' 'Where?' 'Don't be ulteriorly gross.' 'Hey, who said I was being gross? You are the one being gross by considering things and thinking I'm considering them,' he said, before heaping his plate a second time, having eaten his first serving already.  
  
'Well, aren't you two just jolly-jolly?' Bella asked, narrowing her eyes mischievously at me. I knew I was really going to cop it once we got a moment alone. 'Aren't you and Sirius just jolly-jolly? And you and Ian? And you and...' Bella scowled and quickly put a hand over my mouth. However, Sirius didn't appear to have heard. James grinned. 'So, how is Hogwarts, Miss Black?' he asked. 'Good,' Bella replied. She suddenly seemed to realise what he had called her because she turned red. 'I am not Miss Black! I am a Figg and proud of it!' 'And he's a Sirius Romeo Mercutio Benvolio Tybalt Juliet Black and proud of it,' James told her. 'Are they really his middle names?' she inquired. I noticed Sirius was too busy concentrating on something he was doing with his wand under the table to join into any conversation. 'No. His real name is Sirius Neros Black. He thinks that all the Shakespeare makes him sound smart and sophisticated and according to him it really impresses all the chicks. Maybe I should change my middle name. Hmm... what about James Montague Capulet Potter?' 'Very romantic,' I laughed. 'What is your middle name, anyway?' 'Harold.' 'Oh, Harry. A nice name,' Bella giggled. 'Mine's Donna. Get it, Belladonna? My parents were so creative,' she said sarcastically. 'If I ever have a baby, and it's a boy, I'd like to call it Harry,' I said without thinking. 'What's yours, Lily?' James asked.  
  
I hated my middle name. I hated the flowers. Lily would have been fine, but who wants two flowers? I certainly didn't. 'Ambrose.' OK, not exactly a flower, but close enough. And my mum called my Lilian Rose anyway. Don't know why she bothered with the Ambrose if she just called me Rose. Petunia's name was just as bad. Iris. I actually like the name Iris, but put it next to Petunia... urgh. 'That's a nice name. I had a friend called Abigail once, and everyone called her Abby. But she watched this movie about a princess called Rose, and decided she wanted to be called Rose. But she thought just 'Rose' didn't sound posh enough so she made everyone call her Rosalyn. No one could spell that so she changed to Ambrose, 'cept she got really sick of it and went back to Abby. It suited her so much better.' 'Hilary named her guinea pig Rosalyn. I reckon it's a stupid name,' James said, wrinkling his nose.  
  
'Speaking of, big bro. Too busy talking to your new girlfriend to congratulate your sis on making Gryffindor?' James looked across the table. 'Yo, sis. Congratulations.' 'What are you saying about Rosalyn?' 'That it's a stupid name.' 'It is not!' 'I think it's a nice name,' I said. 'But Rosalyn's a boy guinea pig!' James exclaimed. I took one look at the expression on his face and cracked up laughing. 'It's still a nice name,' defended the girl that I supposed was Hilary. 'So, Jamsie. Who's your girlfriend?' 'Hilary, this is Lily. Lily, this is Hilary-Lavinia whom us mere mortals know as Hilary. You are both females. Females gossip. You are both first years. First years laugh and giggle a lot. You are both Gryffindors. Gryffindors are extremely loyal to one another. This is good, because you can talk about terrible female first year Gryffindor stuff, and good little Lav can be loyal to her brother and report back to Potter HQ,' he said evilly. 'Hi,' I laughed, extending my hand to Hilary. 'Hi,' she replied. 'You can call me Hilary or Hil, or Larrie, or Lavinia or Lav or what ever you want.' 'You can call me Lily or Lil or whatever other name you come up with, as many people do,' I grinned. 'You forgot Lilac, Lillers and Lilianã,' Sirius piped up. I rolled my eyes. 'So, you've met the gang already, huh?' Hilary asked. I nodded. 'Poor you,' she sighed.  
  
'Stop trying to get her to break up with me,' James warned, pouting. Hilary looked shocked. 'Oh, you are... I mean, I was joking...' 'No,' I said firmly. 'We're not together, he's joking too.' 'Keep it that way,' Hilary muttered so only I could hear. 'It never lasts with him.' 'Apparently so,' I agreed, looking over at Tara Bailey, who was still talking to Nick. 'Where's Paige?' James drawled in a bored tone. 'Over there,' Hilary smirked. 'When are you going to break the news, big bro?' 'I'm not. And Tara's off limits.' 'More like you can't. Tara's muggle-born?' Hilary asked. I looked at James. 'Can you imagine what dad would say? Besides, Nick's not going to let go of her in a hurry.' 'Can you blame him? If she was your girl, would you be in a hurry to dump her?' 'No,' James replied.  
  
'Who's Paige?' I asked. 'James's girlfriend,' Hilary said teasingly. 'In a manner of speaking,' James said curtly, popping a grape into his mouth. 'She's the Minister's daughter.' 'And you're the billionaire's son. Which is why you two were set up,' Hilary finished. 'Dad just wants to get in the Minister's good books,' James scowled. 'Wait until he sets you up with somebody. You know he's trying to get a hold of that new Firm in London. His son is my age. He'll get him onto you in no time.' Hilary pulled a face. 'Seriously, Lily. You are so lucky to be normal,' she sighed. 'All our dad cares about is money, Quidditch, bloodlines, age-old grudges, work, money and the value of the car people drive. It's sad, really.' 'Your dad doesn't like muggle-borns?' I asked hesitantly. 'He doesn't like anything other than pureblood. He doesn't know about Peter and Sirius. Not that it should matter,' Hilary said dryly, rolling her eyes. 'We just ignore him. My best friend's a muggle-born. He won't let her come over, and tells me I can't speak to her, but what he doesn't know can't hurt him.' 'Or you,' James added, looking her in the eye. Hilary went quiet and swallowed. I watched silently. James wasn't implying... ? 'He's never done anything serious,' she protested in a low voice. 'And now you're defending him?' James hissed. 'Who cares if it's serious or not? Who knows when it will get too serious? You have to tell someone, Hilary.' 'Tell someone what?' 'You can cover it up all you want, but I know what he does to you.' 'James, drop it. I don't want to discuss it now.'  
  
By now everyone appeared to have finished eating. A student at the head of our table stood up. 'Listen up, first years. My name's Anthony. I'm a Prefect and it's my job to show you the way to Gryffindor Tower and where everything is. So if you could all come with me...' Hilary never took her gaze from James's as she stood, her mouth set in a grim line. I grabbed the shoulder of Bella's robes, who was talking to Sirius and hadn't heard, and pulled her up. 'Gotta go, missy,' I said. Bella blew Sirius a kiss. 'See you, Siri!' 'Bye, Bell. See ya, Lils.' 'Bye Sirius, bye James, bye Remus,' I replied, pulling Bella away from the table before she got involved in another conversation. 'See you, Peter,' I added, noticing no one was really paying him any attention. 'See you, Lily. Bella. Hilary,' James said impassively, his eyes still boring into Hilary's. 'Goodbye,' Hilary said, and quickly joined me and Bella.  
  
'He is so annoying,' she moaned. 'I want to tell him, Lily, I do... but...' 'But what?' I asked, as we made our way out of the hall. I was surprised how open she was being to me. We had only known each other for half an hour. 'I can't talk about it here,' she muttered. 'Tonight.' I nodded. 'So, Bella Black. How was tea with Sirius?' Bella giggled. 'He is so dreamy,' she sighed. I shook my head, smiling. Hilary grinned. 'He isn't bad, is he? Neither's Remus.' 'What about James, Lily?' Bella smirked. I coolly raised an eyebrow at her. 'What about him?' 'Nah, he's not cute. He's my brother,' Hilary laughed. 'He so likes you, Lily. You watch him. You'll be his flavour of the week soon enough.'  
  
I was glad she had cheered up. I smiled when she laughed. She had a nice, merry laugh that made you feel warm inside. 'This is the Fat Lady. She guards the Portrait Hole to Gryffindor Tower,' explained Anthony the Prefect. The Portrait showed a lady that was indeed quite fat. She was wearing a frilly pink dress and was fanning herself lazily. 'Password?' she asked. 'The password is Leone Immortalis.' The lady bowed and the portrait swung open. We all clambered inside.  
  
Anthony the Prefect cleared his throat. 'This is the Gryffindor Common Room.' We were all in awe. The entire room was decked out in gold and scarlet, banners lining the walls. There was a warm fire crackling against a wall, and the room was filled with many lounges, couches and various furniture. 'It's like a fairytale,' Bella whispered. 'Now, first year dormitories are located on the first landing,' Anthony the Prefect continued. 'Boys to the left. Girls to the right. Lessons start tomorrow around nine, so be in the Great Hall around eight for breakfast. If you get lost, feel free to ask an older student for direction. I'm sure they'd be happy to help.' He finished there, and we all decided it was our cue to go upstairs. 'By the way, girls dormitories are out of bounds to the boys and vice versa,' he called as we made our way up the stairs. The boys sniggered.  
  
The dormitories were beautiful. Everything scarlet with gold trim. All the beds were four posters, with brilliantly warm looking scarlet quilts. There were drawers, mirrors, and a window with a great view of the grounds. Us girls quickly chose our beds. 'Mine!' Hilary announced, flopping down on a bed. Our trunks had been left in the corner, so we grabbed them and began unpacking. I took a bed between Bella and Hilary. Reilly went to the far right, and a girl named Toni took the one on the far left. We all unpacked, changed into our nightgowns, and fell onto our beds, exhausted.  
  
'That was hard work, or my name isn't Anastasia Truewill Innocence Destiny Baker,' Toni sighed. We all gaped at her. 'What?' she laughed. 'My parents were imaginative,' she shrugged. She laughed, then added, 'Either that, or they were extremely drunk.' 'Well, most people don't use their proper name. My name is Lilian, but I'm always called Lily,' I pointed out. Bella agreed. 'And my name's Arabella.' 'My name's Hilary-Lavinia,' Hilary added. 'And my name's Reilly,' Reilly grinned. 'I think you have a nice name,' I told Toni. 'Which one is the Toni short for?' 'None, really,' she giggled. 'I don't particularly fancy any of them as a name, so I picked the most normal thing I could think of.' 'You know, two of my closest friends both have odd names,' I thought out loud. 'Oh? Do tell,' Hilary smiled, taking out a nail file.  
  
'Well, my oldest, bestest friend in the whole wide world's name is Joey, which is a boy's name. But I used to be great friends with a guy called Ashleigh.' 'Yeah?' Bella asked. 'What happened to him?' 'He moved, and we lost contact. His mum didn't really like me, so I think it was partially because of her.'  
  
Ashleigh Tucker had been a really close friend of mine. Joey had always been my best friend, but Ashleigh was pretty close to it. Most people found it abnormal that a guy and girl could be good friends without it meaning anything else, which annoyed us to no end, but we just really connected. It took awhile to get over him when he left.  
  
'My best friend was a muggle. She turned really nasty when she found out I was a witch,' Toni sighed. 'Joey was really great about it,' I told her. 'Yeah, well I guess some friendships aren't as strong as others.' 'Well, I always thought blood was stronger than water, but my sister hates me because I'm a witch. Joey was more a sister to me than Petunia ever was.' I stopped. Had I just said was? As in past tense? I was thinking like Joey had disappeared, and I didn't like it. 'Yeah, but think - if you were sister's you'd probably fight just as much.' 'Yeah, I guess,' I said, shifting uncomfortably. 'Hey Lily, you know what Sirius told me? He thinks James -'  
  
'Why, hello ladies!' called James cheerfully as he threw open the door and barged right on in. We all shrieked and pulled the blankets over our rather underdressed selves. He didn't seem swayed. 'James! This is a girls dormitory!' Hilary laughed. She was still sitting casually on top of her blankets, not caring that she was wearing a sheer blue nightie. I suppose she was used to being around James in her night clothes often. 'So it is,' he commented. 'I'm glad you've learnt the name of this area so quickly. You're really learning your way around fast.' 'What do you want, James? You aren't allowed in here,' Hilary sighed. Bella giggled. 'James, where's Sirius?' 'In our dormitory,' James said quickly. Bella narrowed her eyes and looked at the doorway. 'Nope. He's here somewhere. I can tell.'  
  
James gaped at her. Suddenly, Sirius Black appeared in the doorway, also gawking at Bella. 'Where did you come from?' I asked in shock. 'How did you know I was here?' Sirius asked. 'I just knew,' Bella shrugged. 'Sirius was invisible,' James said slowly. 'He was under my invisibility cloak. How the hell did you know he was there?' 'You have an invisibility cloak?' Bella asked. 'Yeah,' James said proudly. 'My dad gave it to me.' 'What do you want?' Hilary demanded. Everyone fell quiet. 'Er,' James turned red. He bent down and whispered something in Hilary's ear. She gave him a strange look. 'What the hell do you want that for?' she asked. 'A trick we're playing on Snape.' 'Oh,' Hilary giggled. 'In that case... but I don't want them back. T if they're going anywhere near Snape. I'll find my worse pair.' 'Can you put them in a bag or something?' 'And why is that, big brother?' Hilary asked innocently. James's cheeks turned redder. 'So no one sees me with them, you dolt.' Hilary smirked and dove into her trunk, coming bak with some matching burgundy underwear and a bra. 'Here you go, big brother. Nice and frilly for you.' We all stared at James, who avoided everyone's eyes. 'If you want to see something really funny, be in the Great Hall by eight,' he grinned. Sirius grinned at Bella before following James out. We all stared at the spot where they had been.  
  
'What are they going to do with them?' 'Anything that involves Snape and lingerie should be amusing,' I commented. All the girls giggled and readily agreed. 'Snape's that git of a Slytherin, isn't he?' Reilly asked. 'Yep,' we all confirmed. 'I should know,' Hilary laughed. 'James never shuts up about how stupid he is.' 


	5. Snape's Charade

~*~ Snape's Charade ~*~  
  
~One clown ~Short of a circus ~Babe you ~Make me smile ~One clown ~Short of a circus ~I can tell its ~Worth the while  
  
'Lily Evans! Rise and shine!' Hmmph. Bella was being far too cheerful for that hour of the morning in my eyes. Overly cheery people should be banned early in the morning, if you ask me. 'Go away,' I mumbled into my pillow. 'Fine. Don't come and see Snape lap dancing in the Great Hall...' she sulked. My eyes flew open. 'What? What time is it?' 'Seven forty-five. You have about ten minutes to have a shower and get dressed. Hop to it!'  
  
Crawling reluctantly out of my warm bed, I took a look around. Bella was already dressed. Hilary was walking calmly around the room in her underwear and a white blouse, a towel wrapped around her hair and a facial mask on. Reilly was sitting on her bed in shorts and a t-shirt, undoing sneakers. Yep. Definitely the athletic type. Must have gone for a jog. Toni was nowhere to be seen.  
  
'Where's Toni?' I asked, gathering my toiletries. 'Here.' Toni emerged from under her bed, looking very sleepy. Everyone stared at her. 'What? It's nice under there,' she shrugged. We all blinked and returned to what we were doing. 'That's why I couldn't find you,' Bella laughed to herself and she raked a comb through her shiny black hair. 'Oh, Lily. By the way, this is Kelsey. She came in late last night,' Hilary said over her shoulder while rummaging through her trunk. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the girl on the bed between Toni and Bella. She was wearing a pink t-shirt and some jeans, unbuttoned robes thrown over the top. Her hair was a golden brown, and her eyes were a grey-blue colour. 'Hi,' I smiled, grabbing a towel. 'Hi,' she grinned back as she brushed her hair. 'I'm off to the shower,' I sighed, shaking my head as I marched into the bathroom. 'Don't steal all of the hot water,' Reilly warned.  
  
I opened the door to the bathroom. And nearly died of shock. There was a tiny, potato-ish looking thing with enormous, lamp-like eyes blinking up at me. 'Good morning, Miss Lily! Arla hopes Miss Lily slept well!' the creature squeaked. Arla. Hmm. Nice name. 'Er, hello... Arla.' The thing bowed. 'Arla is in Miss Lily's service. Arla is the house elf that looks after first year misses!' she said excitedly. 'Oh. I'm very pleased to meet you, Arla.' 'Oh, no! Arla is very pleased to meet you, Miss Lily!' I immediately noticed that Arla was tripping over the apron she was wearing, which was a bit on the large side. 'Here. Can I help you with that?' I asked, removing the apron. I folded it so it was halved, with the base flipped over the top to hold it in place. I then fastened it properly around her middle. Arla watched me with wide eyes and a toothy smile. 'Miss Lily is very kind to Arla!' 'It's nothing,' I smiled. 'Listen, I better go have a shower before I'm late for class. I'll see you around. It was nice meeting you, Arla.' 'A pleasure, Miss Lily! A pleasure!' Arla bowed and disappeared around the doorway.  
  
I took a towel from the shelf and walked into the change stall, where I quickly got out of my nightclothes and went into the shower. It was a nice feeling to have the warm water running over me. I quickly washed my hair and got out, changing straight into jeans, a blouse and my robes over the top. I ran out of the bathroom. 'Ready to go?' I asked, stooping in the doorway to pull on my sneakers. Reilly grinned and shoved past me to the shower. I rolled my eyes mockingly. 'Gosh. Anyone would think I was the one that was taking so long!' I drawled. Bella and Hilary grinned, took one of my arms each and dragged me out of Gryffindor Tower and into the Great Hall.  
  
A small zephyr of whispers greeted us when we walked in. There were only about fifteen people in the Hall, twelve of them Gryffindors. They had obviously been informed. James and co were nowhere in sight. Suddenly, guy appeared from behind us and tapped Hilary on the shoulder. She turned around, so Bella and I followed suit, arms still linked.  
  
'Hilary Potter?' Hilary slowly and warily released my arm. 'Yes...' She drew out the word. 'I'm Chris,' the guy said, extending his hand. Hilary shook it reluctantly. 'Nice to meet you.' Seeing her discomfort, I jumped in. 'Hello, Chris. How are you today? My name's Lily, by the way. And this is Bella.' He looked blankly at me for a moment. 'You're the muggle-born...' he said slowly, looking slightly nauseated. 'What are you doing hanging around with riff-raff, Hilary?' he asked. I frowned. Hilary scowled. 'They are NOT riff-raff. I know who you are, Chris. Conveniently left out your last name. You're my dad's boss's son, aren't you? Christopher Kidrouk. I'll bet he organised this. Listen, I don't want to be set up. At least not with you. Because I'm not going with anyone my friends disagree with, or rather, anyone that disagrees with my friends. Good day, Kidrouk,' Hilary said coolly. Bella and I gaped as she stalked off to sit down at Gryffindor table. I smiled. You go girl, I mouthed at Bella.  
  
Chris scowled for a moment, and was just about to leave when James pushed through Bella and I and shoved him up against a wall. Bella and I stared at him. 'Stay away from my sister and her friends,' he growled. 'Cool it, Potter. I was only introducing myself.' 'A harmless cause, I'm sure,' James said through gritted teeth. 'So you should be. And as for her friends, who'd want to lay a finger on those two anyway?' Chris sneered. Bella's eyes narrowed, but we were both still staring at James. 'Say it again?' James rumbled. 'I said, who'd want to lay a finger on those two, anyway?' James punched him squarely in those nose. Chris leered. 'Lay off, Potter. Everyone knows your father. And his rules,' he said quietly. James's eyes narrowed. He was positively seething. 'If you really want the best for your sister, you should keep a closer eye on who she hangs around with.' He looked right over at me, and my fists clenched at my sides as I glared back. 'Never know what your father might do if he found out that she's mixing with mudbloods.'  
  
Smack. James had a mean punch, I can tell you that. 'Don't you dare call her a mudblood, or you'll have me to answer to. I think my sister has excellent judgement. After all, she knew to stay away from you,' he snarled, shoving Chris to the ground. 'Stay away from them, Kidrouk. If you so much as talk to them, you'll be hearing from me.' With that, James put one hand each on Bella and I's shoulders and steered us over to where Hilary was gawking at us. We both kept looking over our shoulders at Chris, who was sporting a blood nose. 'James, what did you do?' Hilary whispered. James scowled. 'He called Lily a mudblood... I lost it...' 'He called you a mudblood?' she asked disbelievingly. 'But James, you'll get in trouble!' 'What's new?' James grinned, sitting down and pouring himself a drink. Hilary sighed and shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. Bella and I exchanged glances before I looked back over at Chris.  
  
'Stay away from him, Lily,' James said in a low tone, without looking up, making me jump. I looked at him, shocked. He raised his gaze to meet my eyes. 'He's trouble, Lily. And he's one of those people that like to make Hogwarts hell for muggle borns.' 'What year is he in?' I asked casually, taking a spoonful of cereal. 'Second. He's a Ravenclaw, but he's got the heart of a Slytherin. And I know him, Lily. He'll have it in for you.' 'Hmm,' I replied. 'So, um - when's this thing with Snape happening?' 'Very, very, soon.'  
  
As if on cue, Sirius came bounding in. 'Goooooooood morning ladies!' he called. 'Goooooooood morning Sirius!' Bella giggled back. 'Good morning Sirius,' I added. Sirius stuck his head between me and Bella's and kissed us each on the cheek. 'And how are my favourite girls on this lovely morning?' he asked cheerfully. 'Lovely,' Bella and I laughed, meeting each other's gazes. 'And where's my good morning kiss, Mr Black?' Hilary demanded. Sirius grinned and rustled up her hair. 'Nah, James would murder me if I touched his little sis.' 'Damn right. Touch her and I break your face,' James nodded seriously, but the corners of his mouth were twitching.  
  
'James, you'd be too busy ogling at a certain girl to notice,' Hilary said with a wink. 'Who?' James asked sharply. Hilary eyed him suspiciously. 'Tara, of course. Who else would I mean?' she asked slowly, giving him a weird look. 'Of course,' he muttered, returning to his breakfast.  
  
'James!' hissed somebody. We all looked up to find Remus waving at us from the doorway. James grinned and gave him a thumbs up. Remus waited a few seconds before returning it and sneaking back out of the hall. 'Wait for it,' James murmured. 'Three... Two... One.'  
  
Right on cue, Severus Snape walked into the Great Hall, idly chatting to Malfoy and two other Slytherins. Bella stared at him in shock for almost a full thirty seconds before she fell off her chair laughing. This set everyone else off. The hall roared with laughter. 'Oh - my - God!' Sirius howled.  
  
Let me try to explain the scene that lay before me. Snape was wearing the burgundy underwear I mentioned earlier, with one small difference. They were no longer burgundy. They were hot pink. It also appeared to be, that, while everyone in the Hall was seeing him in pink lingerie, he seemed to think there was nothing odd whatsoever about his clothes. I was sure the boys had ingeniously worked this into their plan. Need I say more, he looked utterly hilarious.  
  
'Snape...' Sirius managed, recovering. 'Is this the new fashion?' Snape glared at Sirius and looked down at his attire, which he suddenly seemed to not be quite right. 'Why you...' he snarled, cheeks reddening. Everyone was absolutely cracking up. Snape scowled. 'Fix it,' he hissed, just as McGonagall entered the Hall. 'Severus Snape!' she exclaimed. 'This is not amusing! Detention! Change into you school robes this instant!' 'But... but... they...' Snape spluttered, flabbergasted. 'Enough! You will change your clothes immediately!' We didn't notice Kidrouk and Malfoy follow him out.  
  
By now everyone had quickly returned to their breakfast so as not to annoy McGonagall. But as soon as she had followed Snape out of the Hall, everyone started snickering all over again. James, Sirius and Remus hi-fived each other. 'Hey. Where's Peter?' I asked, suddenly noticing his absence. Sirius shrugged. 'Asleep.' 'Oh,' I said. 'He had nothing to do with it,' Remus explained.  
  
'Mr Potter! Mr Black! Mr Lupin! Miss Evans! Miss Figg! Miss Potter! Come with me,' McGonagall called from the entrance, suddenly appearing again. Bella and I looked sharply at each other. What had us girls done? James, Sirius and Remus were all protesting loudly as they stood up as slowly and as noisily as possible. Hilary was frowning fiercely.  
  
We all walked very slowly from our seats to the doorway. 'My office. Now,' she said, pointing in the mentioned direction. 'Do what she says. Don't complain; we'll do the talking,' James muttered under his breath. 'Just follow us.' Bella and Hilary and I did so uncertainly. We were in trouble on our first day - and we hadn't even had any lessons yet! The three boys seemed to know the way to McGonagall's office pretty well, I noted. I supposed they must have visited it a few times. They stopped outside a door, and so did we. McGonagall caught us up. 'In you go,' she prodded, so we all ambled in. First Sirius, then Remus, Hilary, Bella, James. I was last, apart from McGonagall. James stopped suddenly. 'Is there a problem, Mr Potter?' McGonagall asked. But James and Hilary was too busy glaring at someone. I followed their gaze and realised why. Chris Kidrouk. 'Nothing, Professor,' James said through gritted teeth, and we all shuffled right inside. McGonagall shut the door.  
  
'Explain yourselves.' Everyone exchanged glances for a moment before James spoke up. 'I did it, Professor.' 'And so did I,' Sirius piped up. 'And so did I,' Remus added. 'Me too,' Hilary said. The boys all looked at her, but she just mouthed 'my underwear' at them. McGonagall nodded. 'Very well. And you two?' she asked Bella and I, staring sternly down her glasses at us. I opened my mouth to say something, but Bella got there first. 'I was involved too, Professor,' she said solemnly. Everyone gawked at her. James started to protest, but Bella shut him up with a glare. McGonagall fixed her beady eyes on me. 'And you, Miss Evans?'  
  
Hmm. If I said I wasn't involved, it would look like I was lying because everyone else seemed to be in on it. But I would then still have a clean record for my first day and wouldn't be getting punished for something I never did. On the other hand, if I said yes, I would be lying. Yet if everyone else was sharing the blame, I felt like I should too. But once again, someone beat me to it. 'Lily wasn't involved, Professor,' James said. 'Is this true, Miss Evans?' I nodded. McGonagall looked over at Snape. 'This does not comply with your story, Mr Snape.' 'They were all involved, Professor. We overheard them discussing it, and saw them running off down the corridor before we came into the hall -' 'That's not true,' I said bluntly. Everyone looked at me. 'I mean, sorry, Professor, but that can't be right. We were in the hall before he came in. Ages before. Arguing with him,' I said, nodding at Kidrouk. 'Can you confirm this?' McGonagall asked him. 'I never spoke to any of them, Professor. The only time I've ever saw them this morning was when they were running down the hall, and Severus said...'  
  
I bit my tongue to keep from exploding into my infamous redhead temper. He had fed McGonagall some story! 'Professor, we have owned up and accepted the consequences. Why should we have any reason to lie?' James asked slowly. 'I'm sorry, Professor. But I think James is right. These three must have lied, you must realise. I think they are more at fault than we are. Because they had no reason to lie. Therefore there is obviously some motive behind it. Whereas what we did was a harmless joke, and no one got hurt. They are trying to get fellow students in trouble based on non-existent evidence. Like James said, if we've owned up, why would we have any reason to lie?' Sirius continued.  
  
Gods. That had just come from Sirius? A serious and intelligent answer from a fooling and dumb-act Sirius? Wow. 'Very well. Mr Snape, Mr Malfoy, Mr Kidrouk. You are dismissed with a detention each. You may leave.' They all scowled and left. The three boys's faces grew into satisfied smirks. 'As for you six, I don't know what to do with you. Lessons haven't even started yet. And after your performance last year, Misters Potter, Black and Lupin, I give you a warning. I do not want a repeat of your ridiculous abundance of detentions. And as for you three, may I stress that you are yet to attend a lesson! My advice is to keep wiser company, perhaps,' she said, with a look at James. A small smile was playing on her lips. 'You are dismissed. Boys, you will serve a detention each. Oh, and Miss Figg? Miss Potter? As honorable as your intentions were, it might be to your advantage to be truthful when questioned on your involvement in activities,' she added, the smile much more definite. 'Yes, Professor,' Bella and Hilary chimed. James grinned at McGonagall, and we all stood. McGonagall sighed and made a shooing motion with her hands in an exasperated but good-natured way.  
  
'Go on! Off to class! And don't let me see you in here again anytime in the new future!' 


	6. Why Me?

~*~ Why Me? ~*~  
  
~Can't understand ~What the problem is ~Why the world always feels like ~It has to lean on me  
  
~It's not always the case ~There's so many problems now ~Seems to me like ~I'm not wanted here today  
  
~I don't fit in ~I don't belong ~Suppose this place isn't for me  
  
~So unfair ~So unjust ~But I've lost my nerve  
  
~I just wonder ~What the problem is ~What I did, and ~Why it seems to be my fault  
  
~Understand, now ~This is why I ask the question ~Forever searching for the answer... ~Why me?  
  
Bella and Hilary were losing it as we walked to class. Completely cracking. 'Did you see Snape's face?'  
  
They calmed down, and stopped suddenly. 'Er, Lily? Do you happen to know where we're going?'  
  
I rolled my eyes and handed them their timetables and maps. Honestly. Where would they have been without me? Definitely not where they were supposed to be, that's for sure.  
  
'Hey girls! Wait up!' Sirius Black yelled from somewhere down the corridor. We all turned to face four boys as they came sprinting down the hallway. They skidded to a halt, panting and leaning on the wall for support.  
  
'What class do you have first?' James asked, once they had caught their breath. Bella and Hilary turned to their timetables, but I had already memorised the chart. 'Broomstick training,' I sighed automatically.  
  
James and Sirius exchanged identical grins. 'We're on our way to Herbology, we can show you the way if you like,' Sirius offered, still grinning broadly. Hilary rolled her eyes and mouthed Quidditch fanatics at me from behind James's back. I grinned back.  
  
We reached the outside lawn with quite a few minutes to spare. 'That's Signora Gionva. (Pronounced SHON-vargh, by the way) Buongiorno, Signora,' Sirius said cheerfully. A plump, pleasant-looking witch smiled.  
  
'Ciao, Signor Black. E ciao, Signors Potter, Lupin e Pettigrew. Come stai?' She spoke in a bubbly Italian accent.  
  
'Great, thanks,' James grinned.  
  
'Molto bene, Signor Potter. And who are your lady friends?'  
  
'This is Bella Figg, Lily Evans, and my sister, Hilary.'  
  
'Ah, buongiorno, my piccolo Signorina's. I am assuming you are in my class today?' she asked.  
  
I couldn't help liking this woman. She was quite short, with long, curly auburn hair and merry brown eyes. However, I couldn't quite help wondering how she intended to get her broom into the air while she was on it...  
  
'Well, we best be getting to Herbology,' Remus said. James nodded.  
  
'Nice seeing you again, Signora.'  
  
'Ah, but Signor Potter, Signor Black! May I see you for a moment? You may go, bellos,' she added, to Remus and Peter. They nodded and waved before heading off towards where I supposed the greenhouses were.  
  
'I have already spoken to your Herbology Professor. I was wondering if you would be interested in assisting me with my classes with the first years today, no?'  
  
James and Sirius had identical expressions on their faces, and it looked like Christmas had come early.  
  
'We'd be honored to,' Sirius said quickly.  
  
'Bene, bene, bene. Perhaps you could take these lovely signorinas to the broom shed, and bring down the brooms?'  
  
Sirius nodded, and began to walk off to the left. James followed, and us girls tagged along. 'Quidditch is the best,' Sirius rattled. 'You'll love it.'  
  
'I don't like heights,' I muttered under my breath.  
  
'No?' whispered a voice against my neck. I spun. It was James.  
  
I'd hated heights since forever, or at least as long as I could remember. I shook my head in reply.  
  
'That's funny, because Gionva hates them.'  
  
I blinked at him in surprise. 'And she's a Flying Professor?'  
  
'Yep. And the reason she did it was because she hated heights,' James laughed. 'That doesn't make sense,' I said, frowning.  
  
'Oh, but it does. Because she can fly perfectly without a thought. She still doesn't like heights, but she overcame her fear.'  
  
I shivered. 'I don't know if I can -'  
  
'I'll talk to her,' James interrupted gently. 'If that's OK with you.'  
  
I nodded. 'Good. Now catch,' he grinned, throwing three brooms at me. I caught them and waited while everyone else picked up some, then we all started back.  
  
I stood to the side while Sirius, Bella and Hilary lay out the brooms. Students were slowly filtering out to join us. James was discussing something with Signora Gionva. He nodded, then picked up two brooms and came towards me. 'Here you go. Come on.'  
  
'Where are we going?' I asked, puzzled, as I accepted the broom and followed him.  
  
'The Quidditch pitch,' he called casually over his shoulder. I came to a sudden halt. 'Why?' I demanded. James sighed and turned around.  
  
'Because, mio piccolo Lily, I thought, and your flying teacher agreed, that you might be more comfortable with one-on-ones and not a whole class of people watching you. Which, might I add, would include Slytherins. And I can assure you, they would not give you an easy time,' he said. I sighed.  
  
'OK then,' I said determinedly, and we continued on to the pitch.  
  
'Right. Now you stand on the left of your broom, hold out your hand, like this, and say up.' I took a deep breath and held out my hand like James was.  
  
'Up.'  
  
Nothing.  
  
'Try again,' James pressed.  
  
'Up. Up! Up! Up up up! Up!'  
  
Whoosh. The thing jumped right into my hand so quick I almost dropped it. I stared at the thing in amazement.  
  
'Ok, Lily. Hop on,' he said, smiling as he mounted his own broom.  
  
I swung I a leg over. My heart sped up a little.  
  
'Grip the handle a bit lower,' James corrected, and I copied where he was holding his broom. 'Good. Now, push off lightly.'  
  
I shut my eyes tightly and pushed off the ground. The broom shot up, and my heart began to pound. Oh god, oh god, oh god...  
  
'James...'  
  
'It's fine, Lily. Just relax...' James said quietly, flying up beside me. My eyes were still tightly clamped shut, but I heard his broom and his voice beside me.  
  
'Open your eyes, Lily.'  
  
I shook my head furiously.  
  
'Open your eyes, Lily,' he repeated.  
  
I opened one eye a crack. My hands were gripping the handle so tight my knuckles were turning white.  
  
I let out a sigh of relief and opened my eyes fully. Right. I was fine, I was fine...  
  
Oh god, oh god...  
  
I made the mistake of looking down.  
  
'James, I can't do this,' I whispered pleadingly.  
  
'Ssh, it's ok, Lily...'  
  
'I want to get down...'  
  
'It's all right, Lily. I'm going to help you down, OK?'  
  
I took a deep breath and nodded.  
  
'OK, you need to lean forward slightly. You'll fly downwards. Bring your broom straight when you're close enough to the ground to hop off, OK?'  
  
I nodded again, and leaned forward. I moved down, a bit too quick for my liking. But I gritted my teeth and drew my broom level. Sighing, I quickly scrambled off.  
  
James swiftly swooped down next to me.  
  
'We'll try something else, OK? Don't worry, Lily. I'm going to help you fly, no matter what it takes. Come here and hop on in front of me.'  
  
I eyed him warily for a moment before hopping onto his broom in front of him. He put his arms around me to grip the handle in front of where I was seated. That way, he was preventing me from falling at the same time as holding onto the broom.  
  
'Are you ready, or do you want a break first?' he asked. I shook my head.  
  
'No, I have to try again.'  
  
He nodded.  
  
'Alright. Here we go. I'll take it slow, OK?'  
  
He gently pushed off. I shivered.  
  
'Lily, it's OK. I won't let your fall.'  
  
'I know,' I sighed.  
  
And so the rest of the lesson was spent with James helping me overcome my fear of heights. Halfway through, I went back to flying on my own broom by myself, and I was proud that I could finally stay in the air for a couple of minutes without tensing up and freezing.  
  
'You did great,' James assured me as we walked back from the broomshed and headed to our next class.  
  
'No I didn't,' I argued.  
  
'Have a romantic ride with your boyfriend, Evans?' sneered a voice. James and I spun around. It was Lucius Malfoy.  
  
'Afraid of heights, are we?'  
  
'Leave her alone, Malfoy,' James growled warningly.  
  
'So what if I'm afraid of heights?' I snapped. His eyes glinted maliciously.  
  
'I suppose Potter will dump you now. Mr Quidditch Hot-shot can't have a girlfriend that's afraid of heights,' he taunted. 'What else frightens you, Miss Potter?'  
  
'I am not afraid of you,' I said firmly, glaring at him.  
  
'You know what you do to something that doesn't fear?' Malfoy asked.  
  
'Feed it the fear,' I said through gritted teeth.  
  
'Clever. And you know we will, Evans. We will feed you the fear. You can count on it. Because we won't give up until we see you pack your bags and go back to where you came from.'  
  
'Hell will freeze over first,' James said quietly.  
  
'Only as long as she has her friends, Potter. And I can assure you, they won't last long.' 'You can do what you like, Malfoy. Lily will always have her friends,' came another voice.  
  
Bella was standing determinedly beside us, Sirius on her other side.  
  
'Which is more than you can say.'  
  
'I have associates beyond your wildest dreams. Undercover spies, all through the school. I will know what you are doing, Evans. I will know everything about you. Every monster that haunts your dreams. Every path into your heart and mind. Every little thing that makes you crawl. And I will use it against you.'  
  
'I won't give in, Malfoy. I'm never going home. Or I wouldn't have bothered coming. You can try as hard as you like, but the only time I'm getting on that train home is for holidays. And I can assure you, I will be there the day we return. So go ahead and try.' 'What do you want with her, Malfoy? What's so different about her that makes her stand out from all those other muggle-borns?'  
  
'Everything, Potter. Everything.'  
  
*Yeah, yeah - I know, short, but hey. Thank you to all my reviewers! (There's like, two of you, but hey) Anyway, sorry it took so long. I I'll get started on the next one straight away! And to whoever asked what makes Lily's life hell, you'll have to wait, won't you? Malfoy and the Slytherins will start to get really nasty soon, but that's not all that happens, so just sit tight, OK? I've got big plans for this story. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!*  
  
*Sezzie* 


	7. Everything

~*~ Everything ~*~  
  
~I know I'm not too perfect  
  
~Never did go quite to plan  
  
~Wasn't tall, or pretty, or cool  
  
~Never had the perfect man  
  
~I know I didn't meet the expectations  
  
~Definitely wasn't the greatest  
  
~Sports never were my thing  
  
~Didn't ace every single test  
  
~And I know I can't have everything  
  
~It's way too much for me to ask  
  
~So I won't pretend that I'm wonderful  
  
~I refuse to hide behind a mask  
  
~So don't tell me I'm phenomenal  
  
~Don't try to lie to my face  
  
~I won't live a life of lies  
  
~I already know I'm out of the race  
  
~But I also know one other clue  
  
~Won't forget my internal something  
  
~I could never give up trying  
  
~To be your everything, everything  
  
'Lily...'  
  
I sat up in bed. My eyes flew to my clock. Two thirty AM. What the hell? I rubbed my eyes and blinked. Who had been calling my name?  
  
'Lily,' hissed a voice again, making me jump. 'Who's there?' I whispered.  
  
'It's me, James.'  
  
'James, what the hell? It's two fricking thirty in the morning!'  
  
'I know,' said his annoyingly sing-song voice.  
  
'Where are you?' I demanded, looking around.  
  
'I'm under the cloak.'  
I closed my eyes. I was supposed to be asleep. Why the hell was I sitting up in bed talking to an invisible someone I had only known for three days?  
  
'What do you want?' I moaned groggily.  
  
There was silence for a moment.  
  
'I can't tell you yet.'  
  
I groaned and lay back down, pulling the sheets back over me.  
  
'No, Lily - wait. It's important.'  
  
'James, tell me what it is or go away,' I mumbled through my pillow.  
  
'Lily, please,' he begged. 'I'll tell you if you would just come with me.'  
  
I hmmphed into my pillow and dragged myself out of bed.  
  
'Can you wake Hilary and Bella?'  
  
'Wait,' I commanded as I bent down to search for my slippers in the dark.  
  
'Nice view.'  
  
'James Potter, if you want me to come with you, you are not going the right way about it, I can assure you.'  
  
'It was a compliment!'  
  
'A perverse compliment!'  
  
'A compliment all the same,' he protested.  
  
'Why can't you wake the others up?' I asked, approaching Hilary's bed with a shield for a pillow.  
  
'I thought she'd be less likely to attack you,' he said. 'Huh. So much for that,' I said, gently shaking Hilary. Her hand swung upward and whacked me in the face.  
  
'Go away.'  
  
'Hilary, wake up.'  
  
Her eyes slowly opened.  
  
'What the hell, Lily? What time is it?'  
  
'Whine at your brother, not me.'  
  
'JAMES POTTER!'  
  
'Er, hi, Lav,' James said weakly.  
  
'Where are you?' she demanded.  
  
'Under the cloak. Now wake Bella.'  
  
I walked over to Bella.  
  
'Oi, Arabella!' I said loudly in her ear. She sat up quite normally, immediately awake, not a trace of sleepiness on her face.  
  
'Hey, Lillers. What's up?'  
  
'James wants us to go with him. Why, I do not know,' I said through gritted teeth.  
  
Remus, Peter and Sirius were sitting in a group on the floor and on a lounge, apparently eating sweets and some kind of beverage. They also appeared to be playing chess.  
  
'You brought us in here for chess?' Hilary asked disbelievingly.  
  
'No, we brought you in here for strip chess!' Sirius grinned, locking the door behind us.  
  
'What if we don't want to?' I asked.  
  
'You have to,' Sirius said, pushing us over to where the boys were sitting.  
  
'Relax, we're not playing strip chess,' James said, with a look at Sirius.  
  
'Then what do you want?' Hilary growled.  
  
'We wanted some female company,' Sirius said simply, shrugging. Hilary raised an eyebrow.  
  
'I'm going back to bed.'  
  
'No - wait!' Bella said quickly. Hilary and I looked at her, exasperated.  
  
'It could be fun,' she pointed out.  
  
'Until we sleep in and get up late for class tomorrow!' Hilary exclaimed.  
  
'Well, I'm staying,' Bella said, plonking herself down next to Sirius. Sirius grinned and ruffled her hair, which was already tusselled from sleep.  
  
'An excellent choice.'  
  
James grabbed my wrists and pulled me over . 'You know you want to,' he said teasingly. I sighed.  
  
'Fine! I give in! I'll stay,' I relented, throwing my hands up. James grinned and patted the lounge next to him. I sat down and pulled my knees up in front of me, hugging them and closing my eyes. Just because I was staying didn't mean I was playing.  
  
'You're out voted, Lavinia my dear,' Remus grinned at Hilary. She rolled her eyes, but I saw the corners of her mouth twitch upwards when Remus smiled at her. She fancied him! 'Fine,' she snapped, pulling out her hair elastic to pull her hair back into a neater ponytail. 'But you are going to pay, James Potter.'  
  
* * *  
  
'Lily!'  
  
No, it's not deja vu. Well, it probably is, but you know what I mean. It wasn't exactly the same. For example - it was only one o'clock, not two thirty. And it wasn't James Potter waking me up.  
  
It was his revenge seeking sister.  
'Hilary, go back to bed.'  
  
'No. I'm awake now,' she huffed brightly, pulling the pillow off my face.  
  
'Unfortunately,' I mumbled.  
  
'I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that.'  
  
'You weren't supposed to.'  
  
'Well I did.'  
  
'I thought you were going to pretend you didn't?' I smirked, sitting up.  
  
In actual fact, Hilary had never gone to sleep. She knew for sure that once she did, she had no chance of waking up. So she drank three cups of coffee, took some non-drowsy dispirin and placed a cup of ice on her bedside drawer. Along with a pile of magazines to keep her going through the night, she was pretty much set.  
  
'What do you want to do?' I yawned.  
  
'Wake up the boys.'  
  
'They won't care,' I pointed out.  
  
'Well, we'll just have to do it in a way that will make them care, won't we?' she asked, handing me a cup of ice. I took the freezing thing in my fingers, wriggling out of bed. Bella joined us.  
  
'Come on. Lily can take Remus, and Bella, you can have Sirius - they're on the far left. I'll do Peter, if you want - but James is definitely mine.'  
  
I nodded as we crept, tip-toed, into the second year boys dorm.  
  
I approached Remus's bed. He was laying on his stomach. Taking advantage of this fact, I lifted his collar and tipped the ice down. He sat up immediately.  
  
'What the hell ... ?'  
  
I giggled as Sirius's howling started.  
  
'Ooh... aah... hoo... hoo... cold, cold....'  
  
Bella grinned and pushed Sirius back onto the bed and sat on his stomach to stop him from escaping.  
  
'Shut up, Black. You'll wake up the others and spoil the fun.'  
  
Sirius's face turned into a grin as he looked over to where Hilary was standing over a still sleeping Peter. I motioned for her to wait, and taped Peter's mouth before she woke him, so his yells wouldn't wake James. I stepped back, and Hilary slipped all of her ice down Peter's night shirt. His eyes ope wide and his shouts were muffled from under the tape. We all grinned, including Sirius and Remus, but then all eyes turned to Hilary as she approached James's bed.  
'Hey, Hil,' Sirius said suddenly. Hilary stopped.  
  
'Yeah?'  
  
'I was, er, wondering if we could make some, um, adjustments, before you woke him up?' Hilary's eyes narrowed mischievously.  
  
'Do your stuff.'  
  
Sirius and Remus flew out of bed and walked over to James.  
  
'Let's see, some pink hair...'  
  
'Orange eyebrows...'  
  
'Definitely needs green lips, don't you think...'  
  
When they stepped back, James amazingly still sleeping peacefully, the resting boy in the bed now looked rather amused.  
  
'Now for my part,' Hilary smirked, looking at me.'Aha,' she said. I looked at her suspiciously.  
  
'Why me?'  
  
'Because you do acting right? James also likes you and would be less likely to severely mutate you than say, me. And I think he likes you more than that...'  
  
'James likes Tara,' Sirius, Remus, Bella and I said together. Hilary rolled her eyes.  
  
'Just do it, Lily. Where's your sense of adventure? Or is what I'm about to do too naughty for our little good girl?' she teased, narrowing her yes. I rose to the bait.  
  
'I can be very naughty when I want to.'  
  
'Good.'  
  
'Now what?'  
  
'Come here, and I'll whisper it in your ear.'  
  
Hilary whispered something in my ear.  
  
'Now go whisper that in his ear.'  
  
I went and sat on the edge of James's bed.  
  
'Sit on him, Lily,' Hilary commanded.  
  
'He'll wake up!' I hissed.  
  
'No he won't,' Sirius assured me. Oh god. I shuffled over to straddle James's waist, then bent down to his ear.  
  
'James, love,' I whispered.  
  
'Mmm,' James mumbled sleepily, a smile playing on his lips.  
  
'Do you wanna know a secret?' I murmured flirtatiously. 'Mmm?'  
  
I leant even closer.  
  
'Guess?'  
  
'Lily?'  
  
'Mmm-hmm. Do you know what my secret is?'  
  
'Show me,' he murmured.  
  
I heard everyone snort and turned around to glare.  
  
'Kiss him, Lily,' Bella giggled.  
  
'No way,' I laughed.  
  
'Put a finger on his lips,' Remus suggested.  
  
I did so. James smiled and kissed it, and I drew it back.  
  
'I'm going to go now,' I said quietly.  
  
'No, wait,' Hilary laughed. This is too entertaining. Ask him something.'  
  
'James?'  
  
'Mmm?'  
  
'What were you dreaming about?'  
  
'Bunny rabbits,' he mumbled, laughing.  
  
'What do you think about Malfoy?'  
  
'He's a bloody git that fell in a bottle of bleach.'  
  
Hilary laughed a little too loudly, and James stirred, but I took no notice. This was too much fun.  
  
'What does your underwear look like?'  
  
'I can show you if you like,' James said more clearly, his eyes flicking open and a grin forming on his face.  
  
Sugar! I almost fell over backwards. My cheeks reddened.  
  
I made to get off, but he pulled me back down for a moment, my ear just near his mouth.  
  
'They're blue,' he whispered, before letting me go. I quickly got up.  
  
Sirius put on a girly tone.  
  
'Ooh, Lily... don't tell me your secret, show me...' he teased. James grinned.  
  
'Ooh, Bella, ooh Bella - oh no, don't go - come back - oh, yes... that's feeeeeeeeeeeels gooooooooood...' he taunted back.  
  
Both Sirius's and Bella's cheeks turned slightly red.  
  
'Thought so,' James smirked.  
  
'James, dear brother, you spoilt the fun. We were going to wake you up with a cup of ice,' Hilary laughed. James sat up and stretched. He suddenly seemed to notice something interesting in the mirror across the room.  
  
'What the hell! Sirius, Remus - have you been playing gay hairstylists again?' he whined, disbelievingly tugging at his pink hair.  
  
'Yes,' we all chorused. He sighed.  
  
'Don't give up your day jobs.'  
  
'We won't,' Sirius assured him.  
  
James laughed.  
  
It was awhile before we got any sleep that night, too.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, I woke up entirely of my own accord. I was also very pleased at being able to do so. Especially considering it was a Saturday, which meant I could get a sleep in. And I did. I woke up just after nine thirty.  
  
I climbed out and began to pull together an outfit so I could head to the shower. I quickly surveyed the room first. Bella was sitting on her bed, still in her pajamas, with her walkman, doing some homework. Toni appeared to be under her bed again. Hilary and Kelsey were sound asleep. I sighed and walked into the bathroom.  
  
And nearly died of a heart attack.  
  
Someone had evidently been in there, and had made a very large mess in the process. Yet it didn't quite seem accidental. Shampoo and hand cream was squirted all over the place. All of the towels and spare linen had been thrown in the bath, which was almost overflowing with water. Our make up had been emptied all over the floor. All in all, it wasn't a very pleasing sight.  
  
'Bella?' I called.  
  
'Yeah?' she answered, soon joining me in the bathroom. 'What's - Oh. My. God,' she said, taking in the mess. 'What the hell... ?'  
  
'My thoughts exactly,' I breathed, still in disbelief.  
  
'Oi! Hilary!' Bella hollered loudly, still gawking at what lay before her. We heard a lot of grumbling and cursing before Hilary shuffled in behind us.  
  
'What?' she asked. She rubbed her eyes, and all of a sudden they opened wide. She swore very badly. 'What in hell?'  
  
'Who would have done it?' I asked.  
  
'Well, it wasn't any of us. And I don't think the other three would have done this, either,' Hilary thought out loud. 'The boys... ?'  
  
'They wouldn't do something this drastic,' Bella defended.  
  
'No, I don't think they would,' I agreed, stepping over the pile of make up to look around the corner.  
  
It was my turn to use what seemed to be a very popular question that morning.  
  
'What the hell?'  
  
For written on the wall, in one of Bella's lipsticks, was a message.  
  
This is only the beginning.  
  
* * *  
  
And the message was right. Over the next week, we had everything happen to us - from exploding of perfectly prepared potions to sabotaged assignments. And they kept happening. And they kept getting worse.  
  
Two days after the bathroom episode, Hilary fractured her wrist after falling off a broom that had started bucking up during broomstick lessons.  
  
The day after that, we had returned to our dormitory one night to find a cobra inside.  
  
Three days later, I was called to the Hospital Wing. Bella had food poisoning.  
  
The morning after, I received a note in the mail, with the letters cut out from newspapers and magazines. FeeD iT tHe FeAr...  
  
Then it dawned on me. Malfoy. Snape. They were after me. Bella had come down with food poisoning after eating some cakes I had given her that I had received in the mail, and automatically assumed were from my mother. Hilary's broom had been sabotaged - but that broom had been intended for me. It was only by chance that I had flown a different broom that day - James had brought his and Sirius's brooms for us to fly on that day. As for the cobra - just about the whole school knew I was petrified of snakes. All of this stuff had been focused on me, yet by some strange luck I'd managed to avoid it. But it was hitting my friends instead.  
  
At the time I began to realise this, I was nearing the end of a Transfiguration class. It was about five minutes before lunch. So as soon as class was over, I went straight out onto the grounds, not bothering to have lunch first. I needed to think, to get away from everything. There was one problem. Malfoy and his cronies seemed to have been coming back from Herbology, because, just my luck, I bumped right into none other than Lucius Malfoy himself.  
  
A smile crept over his face.  
  
'Oh, look. It's little mudblood Evans,' he sneered. I took a step back. Swallowing, but with a determined look on my face.  
  
'Aren't you going to run away?' he taunted, advancing. I stood my ground.  
  
'Why can't you just leave me alone?' I asked quietly.  
  
'I've explained it to you before, Evans,' Malfoy snapped. 'Mudblood filth like you don't belong in this school. And it's people like me that fix that.' He shoved me, hard, back into a tree. I cringed when my back connected with the trunk. He aimed to punch me in the face, but I ducked just in time. Heart pounding, I scrambled away and began to run towards the castle, but he grabbed a hold of my robes and slammed me back against the wall.  
  
'How dare you run away from me,' he said angrily, smashing his fist into my mouth. Ouch. I could taste the blood on my lips as he swung again, this time getting my eye. I kicked him hard in the shins before he could hit me again, and made to escape a second time, but he blocked my way and pushed me to the ground.  
  
'Give up, Evans. Give up and go home,' he spat, kicking me. In the stomach, legs, head.  
  
'Stop, please... please...' I pleaded, holding up my hands to shield my face. I crawled away from him, tried to raise myself, but he just kept pushing me back down.  
  
'Go back to the mud you came from,' he sneered. After awhile he stopped, and I got up. I supposed he had wanted me to, because he'd tired of kicking me.  
  
He came after me again, but I was ready that time. I kicked back, fought back, dodging and defending myself.  
  
'Leave - me - alone - Malfoy,' I said through gritted teeth, elbowing him. He growled, and I kicked him swiftly in a place I supposed must have hurt, because he faltered for a minute. I took that as my cue to get away.  
  
I didn't pay attention to where I was running. I just ran. 'If you tell anyone about this, Evans, I swear to god you will pay! You and your friends!' he yelled after me. And I was sure as hell he would. He would get back at me in every way possible.  
  
When I was sure he wasn't following me, I slid down against the trunk of a tree to catch my breath, tears rolling down my cheeks. My shoulder felt bruised where he had grabbed me, and I was almost certain I had a black eye. My head was throbbing painfully, and I had dirt and blood all over my face. 'Geez, Lily. You'll have to be stronger than that if you want him to leave you alone,' I thought aloud to myself, massaging my shoulder. I cautiously lifted up my robes and a leg of my trousers. Nearly my entire right leg was covered in bruises. My chest ached with every breath.  
  
'He probably broke a rib, you idiot,' I grumbled. I couldn't be bothered standing up, so I just sat there.  
  
At some point, it started to rain. But I never got up. I couldn't. I didn't feel like me. I felt empty, and alone, and for the first real time in my life, slightly afraid. I didn't want to go back to the castle. I was too scared to face anyone right then.  
  
Water began to run steadily down my face, and I attempted to wash some of the grime away as I stared blankly out over the lake. After what must have been hours, I heard someone calling my name, but I couldn't bring myself to respond. I was in some kind of trance.  
  
'Lily! Lily?'  
  
Footsteps, and leaves crunching underfoot.  
  
'Lily? Oh gods, Lily! What happened to you?'  
  
I looked up into the faces of James Potter and Sirius Black. Both were rather wet and muddy. But, I suppose, so was I.  
  
I bit my lip and looked away, remembering what Malfoy had said.  
  
'Lily? What happened? Who id this to you?' Sirius asked. I didn't answer. I felt James's eyes search my face, but I refused to look at him. His nostrils flared.  
  
'Malfoy,' he spat, closing his eyes and clenching his fists. 'I swear I will kill that by-blow!' When he opened his eyes again, he took a few deep breaths, then crouched down next to me.  
  
'Listen, Lily. You have to come up to the castle before you catch cold. And we'll need to take you to the Hospital Wing.'  
  
I nodded.  
  
'And you can tell Dumbledore what happened,' Sirius added. I looked sharply at James. 'James, I can't tell Dumbledore,' I said quickly.  
  
'Why not? What did he say? He's threatened you, hasn't he?' Sirius growled.  
  
'It's not the point, OK? It's not just me, it's my friends that he'll go after. And if I go and tell on him, he'll know I'm afraid, and that's exactly what he wants.'  
  
'But by not telling you're giving him what he wants, Lily,' James said softly wrapping his cloak around me and pulling me to me feet.  
  
'If it... if it happens again, maybe. But I can't tell anyone now,' I said firmly. 'What are we going to tell the matron?'  
  
'I don't know. Make something up. But I'm not telling on Malfoy. It'll just cause more trouble.'  
  
They both sighed and nodded, and we began walking slowly towards the castle, me limping and leaning on James for support. After a few minutes of silence, I began to cry again, letting out all the tears I had been trying to contain in front of Malfoy.  
  
James looked surprised, and hugged me.  
  
'Hey, Lily - ssh. What's wrong?' he asked softly.  
  
'Everything,' I sniffed. 'Everything, James.'  
  
'It's going to be alright, OK? You'll be fine as long as you have our friends,' Sirius said comfortingly, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nodded and gave a little laugh.  
  
'I know. Thank you. But Malfoy's not going to give up.'  
  
'Well he'll have to, Lily. Because you're not going anywhere,' James said firmly. 'Because as far as I'm concerned, Malfoy can go jump. We're going to give him a piece of mind, don't you worry.'  
  
'Yeah,' Sirius laughed, trying to cheer me up. 'That is, of course, if we had a mind.' I laughed.  
  
Where would I be without my friends?  
  
~~*~~ Author's Note! ~~*~~  
  
OK, hello everybody! I know a lot of you guys have been complaining about the dialogue being difficult to read. I'd just like you to know that it's not me, it's the site! All my speech is on a new line, but when I publish it comes out weird! In the past like, two, chapters, I think, I have tried double spacing between speech, paragraphs etc. Tell me if it works!  
  
OK, my thank you's to all my reviewers, and answers to questions:  
  
luv-jinxy : I know L&J are in the same year, I was just trying something different! As for the dialogue, see the author's note!  
  
Rubberbandman : I'm glad you love it! Nice name, by the way.  
  
Celine (cel_in2003@hotmail.com) : What a nice review! :)  
  
Lizmaurder4eva : Yeah, I guess they were the spies! Chris is evil, but not in a Dark Arts sort of way. You will see in future chapters!  
  
Clearbrook : I told my girl guide's leader that I have been officially awarded brownie points! (Actually, I left Girl Guides about three years ago but hey)  
  
The Elfin Child : Lily's life is beginning to get very, well, 'depressing', I guess. It starts with Malfoy's bash up, but it gets worse. By the way, how's your head? Does hitting it on the sunset hurt? :P  
  
Cinnamon : I most definitely will keep it up, even if you guys hate it! MUHAHAHAHA! *ahem* Excuse me, I'm on a sugar high.  
  
Ella: I'm glad! Who wants to read a boring story?  
  
Well, that's it for now! I'll try to post within the week! Keep reviewing, I'll love you if you do!  
  
Sayonara,  
  
Sezzie 


	8. Home For The Holidays

~*~ Home For The Holidays ~*~  
  
~Hold my head up high  
  
~Keep on movin'  
  
~Nothing's going to get me down today  
  
~Gotta uphold that smile  
  
~Ignore those troubles  
  
~They ain't gonna spoil my holiday  
  
~Coz I've learnt enough  
  
~Not to let them get the best of me  
  
~I know when I have to say  
  
~Leave me alone  
  
~I don't know you anymore  
  
~So you certainly can't spoil my...  
  
~Holiday  
  
There wasn't as much damage as I had first thought. Nothing serious, no broken rib - just a black eye, fat lip and a lot of grazes and bruises. But I felt like hippogriff dung. The matron, lucky for me, didn't ask any questions. Just tutted and clucked a lot. James stayed with me while Sirius went and got Bella and Hilary. Well, he set out to get Bella and Hilary, anyway. He ended up bringing half of Gryffindor Tower. Not to mention about ten galleons of butterbeer and three quarters of Honeyduke's chocolate supply. Needless to say, we had a bit of fun.  
  
The next few weeks passed without much event, thankfully. I noticed Slytherins following me occasionally, no doubt hoping to get me alone, but, thanks to James and Sirius, I was always surrounded by people. They had vaguely suggested to countless people that the Slytherins were giving some of the first years a hard time, and that it wasn't probably a good idea for us to be alone - so just about all of Gryffindor decided to take up the challenge and protectively follow all of us around. It was sometimes a bit of a nuisance being stuck in the middle of a heap of people all the time, but it definitely kept Malfoy and his friends away.  
  
So, I made it to Christmas without anything happening. Us girls had exchanged details and vowed to meet up at some point. Bella and Sirius had swapped numbers, and Kelsey had asked for Remus's, much to Hilary's disgust. And when the time came, we all packed our things and hopped onto the Hogwarts Express to head home for Christmas.  
  
And when we arrived at the station, I was met by a very excited Joey.  
  
'Lilian Evans! I haven't seen you for three months! Three months!'  
  
I grinned and practically ran out of the train, Bella and the crew hot on my heels.  
  
'Three bloody months, Lily Evans!' Joey screeched, waving her arms around, a paper shopping bag in each hand.  
  
'Hey, settle, settle. Where have you been?' I laughed. Joey pulled a strand of hair out of her face. Her entire head of deep brown now had blonde streaks in it, and was all braided into a zillion tiny, neat little braids. She grinned and held out a bag.  
  
'I have been exploring London. Here's your welcome back gift, by the way.'  
  
I opened the bag. Inside appeared to be a cheesecloth top, some jeans, and...  
  
'Tickets to the circus! Oh my god, are you for real? This is awesome!'  
  
'Mum got them from work,' Joey grinned. Suddenly, someone behind me coughed. It was Sirius.  
  
'Oh! Joey, I suppose I should introduce my friends before Sirius decides he has to fake his own death to get some attention,' I said airily, turning to look at Sirius. He pretended to cower, trembling his lower lip.  
  
'Wi'm sowwy, Wiwly. Wi didn't mwean two intwerwupt.'  
  
Joey laughed.  
  
'Everybody, this is Joey. Joey, this is Sirius Mercutio Benvolio Romeo Tybalt Juliet Black.'  
  
'Pleased to meet you,' Joey giggled, as Sirius enthusiastically shook her hand.  
  
'This is Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Hilary Potter, and Arabella Figg.'  
  
'Call me Bella,' Bella aid as she shook Joey's hand. Joey's smile flickered a little.  
  
'Bella. Lily's told me so much about you!'  
  
'Oh no, Lily, I hope it wasn't anything bad!' Bella mocked sternly.  
  
'Am I missing something?' 'Oh, James! Where did you go? Anyway, Joey - this is James Potter. James, this is Joey.'  
  
'Nice to meet you,' James said, bowing.  
  
'Same to you,' Joey smiled back, her lips twitching slightly as she shook his hand. I watched with amusement.  
  
'Is my mum picking us up, or yours?' I interrupted. Joey snapped around. 'Oh, yours is. I'm staying the night. That is - after the circus. I wanted you to stay with me, but your mum wanted you to herself!' she giggled. I grinned.  
  
'Well, I am dying to see my mum,' I told the guys. 'So I hope you don't mind if we go.' 'Of course not,' Bella said.  
  
'Catch up with you guys later, ok?'  
  
'Diagon Alley, a must,' Hilary agreed, waving madly.  
  
'Nice to meet you, Joey!' Sirius yelped, as he dodged Bella, who appeared to be trying to attack him. Joey kept looking over her shoulder as we walked away.  
  
'I can't believe it! You ditched me for a load of nutters!' she joked.  
  
'They aren't that bad,' I commented, accepting the gum Joey gave me and popping it in my mouth.  
  
'Yeah, James is a major hottie. Where did you pick him up?'  
  
'Actually, he was the first person I met. I was sitting by myself on the train, and the guys came in and sat with me.'  
  
'Ooh. So, is he dating anyone?'  
  
'Well, Sirius is always going on about this Paige girl, but I don't know if he's actually seeing her. But he does have a major crush on another girl. In fact, your good friend Nick's girlfriend.'  
  
Joey's eyes clouded with confusion for a moment, then opened wide in understanding.  
  
'Nick?' she laughed. 'As in Nick Mornington, who came to your house?'  
  
I nodded.  
  
'He has a girlfriend? You have got to be kidding.'  
  
'Who? James, or Nick?'  
  
'Why do you say it in that tone?' she asked warily.  
  
'Well, James has a bit of a reputation with girls,' I said lightly.  
  
'I'm spoken for, anyway,' Joey sighed. I raised an eyebrow.  
  
'Really? Who?'  
  
'Sam.'  
  
It took me a moment to register that.  
  
'Wait - did you just say Sam?'  
  
She nodded.  
  
'Like - as in, Sam van Loon?'  
  
'The very same.'  
  
'Joey!' I exclaimed. She giggled.  
  
'What? He's cool!' she defended. 'He's heaps nicer now. Besides, according to him, the only reason he annoyed us was because he liked us, he said.'  
  
'Oh my god,' I laughed, shaking my head. 'You, and Sam. Do you know how wrong that sounds? What did René have to say about it?'  
  
'René thinks I'm a crazy jackass. But then again, she can talk.'  
  
'Yeah, she is a bit wild,' I admitted.  
  
'But never mind Sam, I'm in love with your best friend.'  
  
'Who, Bella?' I asked, raising an eyebrow. I could see my mum in the distance and gave her a wave.  
  
'No, James, you dolt,' she laughed.  
  
'Ah,' I grinned knowingly. 'He's quite the little heart breaker, I will stress.'  
  
'Heartbreaker smuchwaker. Who cares? I'd kill for one kiss. He is hot,' she grinned, shaking her head, as I was suddenly swept into a big hug by my mum.  
  
'Hi,' I choked out.  
  
'Hi, honey,' mum grinned. 'Have fun at school?'  
  
'Yes - but I miss you guys way too much!'  
  
'I'm sure. She's been too busy hanging around with hot guys, Mrs E,' Joey teased. Mum gave me raised eyebrows and I poked my tongue out at Joey.  
  
'Relax, mum. They're just friends -'  
  
'Who happen to be incredibly sexy,' Joey interrupted.  
  
'That happen to be incredibly sexy,' I added, rolling my eyes. 'I'm not going to get raped, mum. Geez, Joey. Don't put ideas into her head.'  
  
We both laughed.  
  
'Well, we're going out for lunch, to celebrate your return!' Mum said as we climbed into the car. 'Cool. Where to? By the way, where's Petunia?'  
  
'Smokey's. And Petunia's been on camp. She gets back tomorrow afternoon.'  
  
'Smokey's? Awesome, Mrs E,' Joey said, pulling on her seatbelt.  
  
'I'm, glad you like the idea,' Mum replied, smiling at us in the rearview mirror.  
  
I wasn't sorry that Petunia was at camp. I doubted that she would have come had she been home anyway. And besides, Joey and i would have more fun with out her. We had lots of gossip to catch up on and Petunia wouldn't have wanted to hear a word about my 'freak school' as she had deemed it.  
  
Smokey's was great - and as it happened, Bella and her family happened to be walking around Muggle London near by. We begged our parents to let her come to Smokey's with us.  
  
I looked at Joey. She was great at convincing my mum. She smirked and turned to my mother.  
  
'Go on, Mrs E. I'd love to meet Bella, since Lily's told me so much about her. I'm sure you would too.'  
  
'Oh, go on then. If it's OK with your parents,' she added, looking over at where Mr and Mrs Black were standing.  
  
Bella came from a large Italian family. She was an only child, but according to her, the house was never empty of children. I guess Italians just have that any-child-of-yours-is-a-child-of-mine kind of way of thinking.  
  
Mrs Black was the kind of person you'd call a way-out hippy. Peace, love and all that jazz. Mega greenie, too. I even think she was a vegetarian. She may sound weird, but she looked pretty cool. I'd never actually spoken to her, but I'd seen her a couple of times and her fashion sense was pretty far out at least. Funky jeans and boob tubes. Everything flared. And her hair! It was the darkest black, down to past her waist. She wore it in a big braid, with fantastic colours streaked through it. If she was anything like the way she looked, I'd thought, she'd be an awesome mum.  
  
Mr Black seemed a bit more serious, but Bella said he was pretty laid back. He was wearing jeans and a red shirt, and looked like a normal kind of guy. Bella said that he was, except for the odd occasion when he got an odd idea in his head. Like this one time he'd thought that it was important that all of her cousins learned the skill of falling off the roof, if ever they found themselves in a dangerous position. You know, put your arms out to break your fall and all that rot. She also warned me that you should probably not put your arms out to break your fall from such a height, as they ended up with eight broken arms. I'll remember that, if I ever find myself falling off a roof.  
  
Anyway, Smokey's didn't go as smoothly as I had originally intended. There seemed to be somewhat of a hint of jealousy lurking somewhere there, because Bella and Joey didn't exactly hit it off.  
  
'Lily, you have come stay sometime,' Bella had grinned as she helped herself to some salad while my mum was off touching up her make up.  
  
Simple enough statement, but the claws came out.  
  
'Come on, Bella. She's been with you for three months! She's mine, now!' Joey laughed, but it was slightly stiff.  
  
'I can still go to Bella's,' I said simply.  
  
Joey looked at me.  
  
'Whatever. You know, mum got tickets to a heap of concerts, too, not just the circus. She works at the Box Office,' she added superiorly to Bella.  
  
'My dad plays Quidditch,' Bella said proudly through a mouthful of celery. Joey wrinkled her nose.  
  
'That basketball on broomsticks? How... exciting.'  
  
I'd had enough of it by then, and it hadn't even really started yet.  
  
'Guys, quit it,' I said, not looking up.  
  
'It's not my fault your friend here can't live with the fact you have another best friend,' Joey said with a pointed look at me.  
  
'I don't mind if she has two best friends,' Bella said simply. Everyone had forgotten about their food.  
  
'Yeah, if you say so.'  
  
'I don't! And it's not my fault if you feel like you have to remind Lily how good you are so she'll still like you more. But I don't care if she likes you more. You've been friends forever. Geez, I don't want to intrude,' Bella said, rolling her eyes. Joey glared at her.  
  
'I don't need to remind Lily how good I am, because just being next to you creates a great comparison.'  
  
I could not believe Joey had just said that. Bella looked hurt.  
  
'Guys, just stop it, right now!' I demanded, slamming my drink down. They both scowled and looked away.  
  
'Listen, guys - you don't have to get along, but you're both going to have to get used to the fact that I'm friends with both of you. If you aren't going to be nice, don't talk.'  
  
I was actually leaning towards favouring Bella then. You don't think that was just biased, because I wasn't used to Joey as much? I just seemed to think that Joey was being a bit mean there, but I might have been wrong.  
  
'Listen, Lily. I should go. My mum will be here soon,' Bella said, finishing her drink and standing.  
  
'Yeah, I guess,' I said dully. 'See you. Call me, OK?'  
  
Bella's eyes flickered to Joey for a moment.  
  
'Yeah, maybe. Bye.'  
  
'Bye.'  
  
Joey and I sat in silence for a few moments, not looking at each other. After a moment, I spoke.  
  
'Joey, she's my friend too, you know. Did you expect I'd go three months away from you with out meeting new people?'  
  
'No,' she said shortly. 'But I haven't seen you in ages. You get to see her all year round at school. I don't know, I guess I'm just not used to sharing you. But this doesn't mean I'm going to be nice to her,' she added quickly.  
  
'Civil?' I bargained.  
  
'I'll try,' she agreed, pushing her food around her plate with her fork.  
  
Mum came back about then.  
  
'Hey girls. Where's Bella gone, Lily?' she asked, smiling.  
  
'Oh, she had to go. Her mum came for her,' I lied. Mum bought it though, so we quickly finished our food and left. Joey and I had lost our appetites.  
  
We pretty much just wandered around London for the rest of the day, and that night, we went to the circus. It was awesome, full of performing animals and acrobats. Brilliant costumes, and the lighting was amazing. The magic tricks didn't seem quite as exciting after spending a term at Hogwarts, but it was great all the same.  
  
The awkwardness between myself and Joey had ended quickly, and we were right back to our chatty selves, but I still had a nagging feeling in the back of my head, telling me something had changed in our friendship that day.  
  
And I don't think it was exactly for the best. ~*~*~*~*~ Author's Note ~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hey guys, I just wanted to clear a few things up.  
  
One, several people have been telling me that James and Lily are the same age. I figured this, but felt like writing something different.  
  
Two, I know that since Tom Riddle is her father, Lily technically speaking isn't a muggle born. But since nobody knows that he is her father, it is natural that everyone thinks she's a muggle born. So even if she's not muggle born, she lives the life of a muggle born and thus the title. Are you with me on that one? Great.  
  
Anyway, the next chapter is ~Christmas With The Potters~ and should be up soon. It will cover the rest of the holidays.  
  
My humblest apologies to all those who seem to be in love with Joey - I'm sorry I turned her into such a nasty person. And I hate to say it, but she gets worse. Sorry, but it's based on a relationship I was in where two of my good friends couldn't stand each other. But it had a good ending, and don't worry, the Joey/Bella issue will be resolved!  
  
I know this was a pretty short and not-so-exciting chapter, but I had a lot of homework! Have mercy.  
  
See you guys soon, and please keep up the reviews! I don't want to be mean and say 10 reviews or I won't update, because I know I have a couple of faithful readers out there and even one would be good enough for me. But reviews would be great!  
  
Bye!  
  
Sezzie  
  
P.s. I didn't have time to write thank-yous, so I'll mention everyone in the next chapter, K? 


	9. Christmas WIth The Potters

~*~ Christmas with the Potters ~*~  
~Whispers in the trees  
  
~Hear that  
  
~Murmur on the breeze?  
  
~Understand anything  
  
~Can you  
  
~See what it saying?  
  
~Can't you see me  
  
~Falling...  
  
~Quietly...  
  
~Lost...  
  
~Alone...  
  
~Birds whistling and sing  
  
~See them  
  
~Take to the wing?  
  
~Don't you get it at all?  
  
~Can't you  
  
~Tell that I'm falling?  
  
~And that I'm lost, and so alone.  
  
~So alone.  
  
Petunia came home the next day. And so began the fun.  
  
Or not.  
  
Joey had slept the night, which made it easier. Or should I say, stayed over. We never actually got to sleep. But in any case, Petunia would not let up. Quite frankly, I was almost wishing I was back at school, even if that did mean leaving Joey and mum and going back to Malfoy. Petunia was enough to drive anyone crazy. As far as she was concerned, I should have stayed at my freak school with all my freak friends. Or rather, the other freaks, because according to her it was impossible for me to make any friends. I had rather calmly pointed out that if that was so, how come Joey was staying over, but she pretended to ignore me.  
  
Then there was mum. I was glad to see her and all, but when you had someone following you around trying to drill you with twenty questions twenty-four seven, it kind of got annoying. She had been rather put-out when I had told her we weren't allowed to do magic out of school, too. I was beginning to think that magic was maybe a curse. But then again, it had its uses. Since Petunia refused to speak to me, she was unaware of the fact that as an underage witch, I was forbidden to use magic, which meant she was extra careful to keep her distance in case I turned her into a toad.  
  
But for the first time, I was starting to get sick of having Joey with me every hour of every day, which worried me a bit. Though I guess even your best friend gets irritating after awhile, despite the fact I hadn't seen her for three months.  
  
Anyway, one way or another, I was thrilled when I received a phone call from Hilary about a week before Christmas. When mum had told me who it was, I had practically bolted upstairs to use the phone in the spare room.  
  
'Oh my god, Hilary - you can not begin to imagine how much I have been praying you would ring.'  
  
'Right back atcha, girl,' Hilary laughed. 'Sorry if you haven't been able to reach me, our phone line has been down because of the snow. It's about six feet deep down here.'  
  
'You're joking,' I sighed enviously, peering sadly out the curtains at the very thin sheet of snow that covered our drive way. 'We've only had a centimeter or so. You're so lucky. I wish I was there.'  
  
Without warning, Hilary gave a shrill scream.  
  
'Er, are you OK?' I asked. 'What happened?'  
  
'Hang on a sec, will you?' she asked distractedly. I heard her slightly cover the phone. 'James, go away! I'm trying to talk to Lily!'  
  
I could just imagine the innocent grin that would be on James's face, what ever he was up to. I smiled to myself. Suddenly, I heard protesting, some laughing, then a voice sounded on the other end.  
  
'Hello?'  
  
'Yeah?' I asked.  
  
'Oh, hello Lily,' came James's casual voice. I heard Hilary laughing in the background. 'James, give me the freaking phone, now!'  
  
'Oh, I think she wants the phone back. I should go. Goodbye, Lily.' I laughed. 'Goodbye, James.'  
  
There was an incoherent exchange before Hilary returned.  
  
'He is so annoying!' Hilary exclaimed, but I could tell she was smiling. 'He put snow down my bloody shirt!'  
  
I laughed.  
  
'It is not funny!' Hilary retorted defensively, but I couldn't help myself. 'Want to swap?'  
  
'Gladly. Believe me, Petunia is a lot worse than James could ever be.'  
  
'Not possible,' Hilary said. 'Uh-uh. Nope. James is the worst.'  
  
'If you say so.'  
  
'I do. Anyway, James suddenly needs to desperately need the phone, so I have to hurry up. He's just doing it to annoy me, but -'  
  
A very loud 'Am not!' sounded in the background, and Hilary sighed.  
  
'As I was saying, mum wants to know if you want to come over for our Boxing Day dinner and stay for the week. She'd invite you for Christmas dinner, but we supposed you'd want to spend Christmas with your family.'  
  
'Yeah. Thanks, I'll go ask. Hang on, OK?'  
  
'Yep.'  
  
I walked out to stand out on the landing.  
  
'Oi, mum!' I yelled. Mum appeared at the foot of the stairs.  
  
'What? Lily, don't yell.'  
  
'Sorry. Can I go to Hilary's for Boxing Day and sleep the week? Please?'  
  
'Who's Hilary?' she asked, running a towel over a mug. I'd obviously interrupted her cleaning dishes.  
  
'One of my friends from school. Can I? Please?'  
  
'Well, I suppose so,' she sighed. 'As long as you're here for Christmas dinner. Otherwise, what was the point in you coming home? Go on then.'  
  
'Thank you so much!'  
  
I grinned, and ran back into the spare room and snatched up the phone. 'Hello?' 'Hello.'  
  
'Mum said it's cool. Are you picking me up?'  
  
'Yeah. Um, hang on...' There was silence for a minute. 'James says he's coming around on his broom to pick you up.'  
  
I laughed. 'Sorry to disappoint, James - but I'd rather not.'  
  
'James says he's dead serious and you better wear some warm clothes.'  
  
'Very funny, James,' I grinned into the phone.  
  
'He's serious, Lily. He says he hopes you have been practicing, because you're driving back.' 'Hilary, I am not flying to your house on a broom.'  
  
There was another moment of silence.  
  
'Um, Lily... James wants to talk to you. Here he is.'  
  
The phone crackled for a little, then James picked up.  
  
'Hello Lily?'  
  
'Hello, James,' I sighed.  
  
'I'm serious, you know.'  
  
'So am I. I am not flying to your house on a broom.'  
  
'Well, I guess you can't come then - because it's the only way you can get here.' 'What do you mean?'  
  
'Well, we can't disapparate yet, so you can't apparate here. I'm presuming your fireplace isn't connected to the Floo Network, so you can't floo. And,' he continued, his voice smug, 'our house is snowed in. Therefore there is no way of you reaching us. Unless you fly.'  
  
'We'll be seen,' I pointed out. Muggles weren't stupid. They would notice a flying broom zooming across the sky.  
  
'I have all your bases covered, Lily Evans. You're forgetting my cloak. There's no way out of this,' he laughed. 'And whether you like it or not, I'm coming over on Friday. And when I leave, I'm taking you with me.'  
  
'Kidnapper.'  
  
'Call it what you like, Miss Evans. You're not stopping me.'  
  
'You know I hate flying,' I protested.  
  
'Exactly, which is why this will be good for you. Come on, Lily. It won't be any different to the two of us flying on the Quidditch pitch.'  
  
'Of course not, James - there's absolutely nothing different about the fact it's a blizzard out near your house! It's snowing here, too. We'll freeze for god's sake.'  
  
'Lily, stop making excuses,' James's voice said, gentle but firm. 'I am going to give the phone back to Hilary now. I will see you on Friday. Goodbye.'  
  
'Hilary, please tell me he's not,' I whined when she returned to the phone.  
  
'Sorry, Lillers. He's dead set on doing it,' she laughed. 'Oh Lily, the irony of it all.'  
  
'It's not funny,' I complained, but I was actually trying desperately not to laugh. When James got an idea in his head...  
  
'It is. And oh,' she said, dropping her voice, 'nothing about you being a muggle born, OK? My dad will flip. I've told him you're an orphan, and you just live with muggle guardians, OK? I hope you don't mind.'  
  
I sighed. I couldn't believe someone could be so dead-set against muggle borns.  
  
'Yeah, it's fine. I understand. I'll be really careful.'  
  
'Thanks. I'll see you on Friday, OK? Oh, and you don't really need to bring anything. Just your toothbrush and stuff, you know - essentials. You won't need any clothes. Grr, James is bugging me about the phone - I gotta go.'  
  
'Yeah, that's cool. See you on Friday. And, James too, I guess...'  
  
Hilary laughed. 'You'll be fine, Lily. If you fall, I will personally kill him.'  
  
'That's good to know,' I laughed. 'See you.'  
  
'Bye.'  
  
I hung up the phone with a click, then went back downstairs, only to be met halfway by Petunia.  
  
'Was that your school, saying there's been a mistake, and you can't go back? What a shame.'  
  
'Shut up, Petunia. Actually, it was one of my friends.'  
  
'Ooh. I'm scared. You and your freaks, Lily. I don't care what you do at your school, but keep it there. Don't bring it home. It's abnormal enough just having you here,' she snapped, walking into her bedroom. I stood glaring at the door she had disappeared behind before continuing downstairs and yelling out to mum that I was going to Joey's. I really needed someone to talk to.  
  
* * *  
  
I opened my eyes groggily at the light pouring in through my window. Sighing, I sat up, rubbing them, pausing, then flopping back down on the pillow. After staring at the ceiling for a moment, I shot straight back up again. It was Christmas.  
  
Grinning, I pulled myself out of bed, pulled on a dressing gown and slippers and padded downstairs. I peered around Petunia's door as I walked past her room and stifled a giggle when I saw her fast asleep, a cucumber on each eye and goo all over her face. It was quite an amusing sight.  
  
Still musing inwardly, I resisted the temptation of attacking the tree and steered myself into the kitchen to have a glass of juice first. I couldn't help sneaking a look at the pile of presents on the way past, though.  
  
Just as I was placing my glass on the sink, my mum came downstairs.  
  
'Oh, Lily. You beat me again. I thought I was first up,' she smiled before kissing my hairline. 'Merry Christmas, honey.'  
  
'Merry Christmas, mum.'  
  
'Go and open your presents, if you like. I'm sure Petunia wouldn't mind.'  
  
Understatement of the year. More like she wouldn't give two hoots.  
  
'Thanks, mum. Are you coming?'  
  
'I'll be in soon. I'm just going to make some tea.'  
  
'OK.'  
  
I padded into the family room, scuffing my slippered feet on the carpet. Sitting down next to the Christmas Tree, I smiled.  
  
We didn't have much of a Christmas tree. Just a small, sturdy little thing that had remarkably survived a long time. I knew Christmas was a sad time for mum, but she always made an effort for us kids. Dad had passed away around Christmas. Well, at least Logan Evans had passed away. I had no clue where my father was.  
  
I sat there for a moment, wondering. Did he have a family? Was he in his own kitchen, making a coffee before sitting down under the tree with his kids? Or was he one of those work-a-holics that didn't even take a break on Christmas Day?  
  
'Lily, honey? Are you going to open some presents?'  
  
'Huh? Oh, sure mum,' I said distractedly as I was jerked back to reality. My eyes wandered to the tree. A present from Bella was on top of the pile. Because of the absence of an owl in my household, I had given my friends their presents on the last day of school, telling them strictly not to open them, however I had the sneaking suspicion that Sirius couldn't help himself. My gifts from my friends had all arrived by owl in the past week.  
  
I reached for Bella's, then changed my mind at the last minute when I saw my mother watching me, and grabbed the package from her instead. I carefully peeled back the paper, taking care to appreciate the effort she had put into wrapping it. Inside was a box. Mildly curious, I pulled off the lid. The box contained several items; a collar, brush, some toys, and animal treats. I slowly raised my gaze to meet my mother's.  
  
'You're joking,' I said slowly.  
  
'No,' she laughed and threw me the key to our outdoor room. 'Go have a look.'  
  
Slowly, I stood up and walked outside, leaving deep footprints in the gradually growing carpet of snow. When I reached the door to the room, I paused for a moment before unlocking it.  
  
Our outside room, or 'The Cottage', as we had deemed it, was really an empty room in our backyard that wasn't connected to our house. It was probably meant to be a shed, but believe me, it looked more like a room they had forgotten to join up to the main house. We didn't use it all that much, it was really just somewhere we put all the stuff there was no room for in the house. When we were little Joey and I used to play in there, but we had grown out of that a while ago.  
  
The suspense was killing me. I turned the key, and threw the door open.  
  
And was met by a pair of bright green eyes.  
  
'Oh my gosh,' I breathed, crouching down. In case you hadn't guessed already, my mum had gotten me a kitten. And it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Apart from those green eyes, it had a lovely mixed coat of black, greys and white. I fell in love with it there and then.  
  
'I take it you like him?' came my mum's voice from behind me, as she trooped across the snow covering our backyard to join me.  
  
'I love him.' I grinned and threw my arms around her. 'Thank you so much! He's gorgeous! Where did you get him?'  
  
'Diagon Alley, actually. He has some kind of magical power, apparently, but don't ask me what.'  
  
'You went to Diagon Alley?' I laughed doubtfully.  
  
'Actually, Mrs Mornington invited me out for a day. I felt inclined to accept,' she said lightly. I could tell we shared the same view of Mrs Mornington. 'Can I bring him inside?' I asked.  
  
'Of course! He's only out here so you wouldn't see him, silly!' she laughed. 'His basket and dishes are over in the corner. Come on, I'll help you take them in.'  
  
And so Christmas was a happy event in the Evans household. I got wonderful presents. Aside from my kitten, who I named Storm Shadow - the name of Merlin's cat, if you were wondering - I also received some gorgeous lily- shaped earrings from Bella, and an expensive looking silver and emerald charm bracelet from Hilary and James. I had also been sent a nice box of chocolates that were supposedly from Remus and Sirius, but I suspected Remus had organised it, knowing Sirius only too well. Had he have had anything to do it, half of the chocolates would probably have been eaten before they had reached me.  
  
We had turkey for dinner, although the meal had been a bit uncomfortable. Everyone had pretty much sat there in silence. This was mostly because everytime mum would start a conversation with me, it would involve Hogwarts - since there wasn't much else to talk about, considering I had been there for the previous three months - and Petunia would quickly cut it off with a death glare. This occurred to the point where mum gave up altogether. Secondly, Petunia would answer any question mum asked her with the least amount of words possible, giving no room for any real conversation at all.  
  
I felt sorry for mum, considering she had gone through so much effort for me and Petunia just to have it pretty well thrown back in her face. But it was still fun. After dinner we sat in the family room together, not really doing much, but just sitting there. I curled up in an armchair, Storm Shadow at my feet, while mum did some sewing and Petunia read a magazine.  
  
I went up to bed at exactly eight thirty, Shadow hot on my heels. I smiled inwardly at that, he had become very loyal extremely quickly. He was - like his name suggested, I guess - practically my shadow, following me everywhere. When I had changed and jumped into bed, he had immediately taken up a post at the foot of my bed. I fell asleep very quickly, hardly able to wait until I got to the Potter's.  
  
But I wasn't quite looking forward to flying there.  
  
* * * Knock, knock.  
  
'Petunia, do you want to get that?'  
  
'Lily can. It's probably one of her freak friends. Bitch,' she added under her breath as I walked past her to grab the door. I pulled a sardonic cheery smile.  
  
'Takes one to know one,' I said perkily. She glared back and stalked off into her room. Yes! Victory over the Ice Queen!  
  
I pulled the door open, Shadow immediately at my feet. James Potter was standing on the doorstep. 'Good morning, my dear Lilian,' he grinned with a bow.  
  
'Good morning, James. I wasn't expecting you so soon.'  
  
He shrugged. 'So are we going to stand around all day, or are you going to invite me in sometime this year?' he asked. 'It is rather chilly out here.'  
  
I hesitated a moment.  
  
'James, you're a boy,' I pointed out. Always the clown, he began looking himself over.  
  
'So I am. How terribly observant of you,' he said with a bright smile.  
  
'So, my mum will get ideas.'  
  
'I have that effect on people,' he said, pushing past me.  
  
'James!' I hissed. But it was to late. He was already strolling down the hallway.  
  
'Nice house,' he commented. I rolled my eyes and followed him.  
  
Her walked into our lounge, where my mother was dusting.  
  
'You must be Mrs Evans,' he said, offering his hand. 'James Potter. I'm a friend of Lily's from school.'  
  
My mum lanced at me, and I gave her a warning look. She was obviously resisting the urge to smirk.  
  
'Nice to meet you, James. But Lily, I thought you were going to a friend's house today?' 'I am,' I said quickly, before James could open his mouth. 'This is Hilary's brother. He's come to pick me up.'  
  
My mum gave James a once-over.  
  
'You drive? You can't be older than fourteen!'  
  
'Twelve, actually,' he offered.  
  
'Mum, James and I are going to... to, er, teleport to their house,' I invented. James raised his eyebrows at me, but I ignored him.  
  
'Why didn't Hilary come to pick you up?'  
  
I looked pleadingly at James, which he seemed to find amusing. Eventually, he threw me a lifeline.  
  
'Teleporting isn't taught to first years, Mrs Evans. Hilary and Lily haven't learnt it yet.' I gave him a thankful look. Somehow I had the idea that my mother would probably find the idea of me flying on a broomstick through a snow storm less appealing than I ever would. 'James and I are going to go upstairs and get my things, and then we'll leave, OK?' I said.  
  
'OK then. Come and say goodbye before you go.'  
  
'I will.'  
  
I grabbed James's sleeve and pulled him out of the room, grumbling the whole time. He grinned and called out a goodbye to my mum, laughing as I dragged him up the stairs.  
  
'You are a jerk! Why couldn't you have just stayed outside? She didn't know you two were brother and sister! You will not believe what Joey has been saying about you, now she's going to think you're my boyfriend, James!'  
  
'And that's a bad thing?' he grinned. I glared at him.  
  
'Yes, because I know the minute I get home what's going to happen. Miss Overprotective is going to replace my mum.'  
  
'Ooh. Going to get the boyfriend talk, huh? Don't do anything I wouldn't do... You know, that phrase is just wrong. I mean, for you to be here, they would have had to have done it. Therefore they're actually giving you permission to do it...'  
  
'James, just shut up, OK?'  
  
'Anything for you, Lily m'dear.'  
  
I glared at him, but he only grinned back.  
  
'You are the most arrogant, rude and obnoxious person I have ever met, Potter,' I sighed. 'But you love me anyway.'  
  
'That's what you think,' I grumbled, throwing open the door to my room. James walked in and immediately flopped onto my bed.  
  
'So this is your room?' he asked, bouncing up and down.  
  
'James, get - off - the - bed,' I said slowly. He stopped bouncing immediately and stood up. 'Where's your stuff?'  
  
'There,' I said, pointing to a backpack that I had surprisingly fit all my things into. He waltzed over and picked it up.  
  
'Where's the broom?' I asked warily.  
  
'Leaning against a wall outside. Come on. Is this it?'  
  
I nodded, so we walked back downstairs. I poked my head around the doorway into the lounge.  
  
'I'm going now, mum.' 'OK, see you honey. I hope you have a nice time,' she smiled, turning her neck around.  
  
'I will.'  
  
'See you on Saturday. Goodbye, James. Look after yourselves,' she added, looking over at James. He smiled and gave a wave. 'See you, Mrs Evans. I hope you had a lovely Christmas.'  
  
'I did. Thank you, James. Goodbye!'  
  
'Bye.'  
  
I pushed James out the door, then shut it. It wasn't snowing at that moment, but there was still a white sheet covering the ground.  
  
'Don't encourage my mother.'  
  
'What? She thinks I'm charming.'  
  
'How do you know?'  
  
'Everybody does.'  
  
I rolled my eyes.  
  
'Terribly modest, aren't you?'  
  
'Of course,' he replied. He was walking around the side of the house, so I followed him. Around the side, as he had said, was a broom resting against the wall. It also seemed to be pinning the invisibility cloak to the ground. He picked them both up, and threw me the cloak. Then he rested the broom on the ground.  
  
'Here,' he said, taking the cloak back. 'You do it.'  
  
Frowning, I walked around to the side of the broom and raised my right arm.  
  
'Up!'  
  
It flew up into my hand in one go. I hopped on. A second later, James jumped on behind me, then through the cloak over both of us.  
  
'Ready for take-off, Captain Lily?' he asked, slipping his arms around my waist.  
  
Closing my eyes, I kicked off.  
  
'Open your eyes, Lily,' James said calmly.  
  
'How do you even know they're shut?'  
  
'Because I know you. Open them.'  
  
Sighing, I opened my eyes. I could tell it was going to be a long ride.  
  
~*~ Author's Note ~*~  
  
Hello everyone *waves madly* Well, I was actually going to have the whole rest of the holidays in this chap, but I figured I'd cut it in half and make it two chapters so I could get this out sooner :) Sorry - I know it was pretty boring, but I'm getting inspired! The next few should be getting better!  
  
Um, sorry to all you guys who want L/J action! There will be some in the next chapter! Not much, but some! I'm actually leaving it until Lily's sixth year for them to get together, but there will still be lots of L/J along the way - you know, they're in love but don't realise.  
  
But I'd just like to point out that this is primarily Lily's life story, and her story comes before romance. I know I think I put romance as my subject/genre but that's because once they get together there will be a lot of romance. Just not yet. Until about chapter 3/4, it will mostly be a load of flirting and plain old oblivion!  
  
OK - thank you to luv-jinxy for pointing this out - in one of the last few chapters I made a mistake and called Bella's parents Mr and Mrs Black. Don't ask me why, but I always do that. I keep calling Bella, Bella Black too and keep having to change it. So if I do it again, just point it out, OK? *thanks luv-jinxy profusely*  
  
I also realised I haven't put a disclaimer on any of the chapters, so just so I don't get sued: I do not own Lily, Bella, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Hogwarts, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Malfoy and Snape. (Or anyone else you recognise from the books). However I do own Joey, Hilary, most Hogwarts students, and pretty much anything you don't recognise. So don't steal them.  
  
Thank you guys so much for all of your reviews, they're really starting to build up. *stares in awe at reviews, unable to believe such a large amount were possible* I've actually made it to nearly thirty! *jumps up and down with so much hyperactive excitement that mum gives weird looks and locks away sugar jar*  
  
I'll update within the next three days, I'm hoping. If homework allows. Well, here are my thank yous:  
  
Luv-jinxy - I answered your questions in an email, didn't I?  
  
SiriDragon - I totally agree. And just some nasty coincidence - my best friend hates my guts right about now! Don't ask me why tho, lol.  
  
Kristine - Thank you so much! *blows big gigantic kiss*  
  
Lizmauder4eva - Me too! Joey and Lily rock! From what you've said, though, I get the feeling you might not like what I have in store for Joey in the future...  
  
RetroHotty44765 - Speed it up? How so? *scratches head in confusion*  
  
Candace - I emailed you too, I remember answering your questions! Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Clearbrook - Arguments rule! Well, sorta. Lol. Goddessed Muse 1o9 - :) Yeah, GROSS! Thought it might make for an interesting plot, tho.  
  
Jodz - thank you!  
  
Celine - Bad, bad Joey! Thank yo for your reviews!  
  
J.l.m. - OMG I should hope so. I won a writing competition last year, so one would hope!  
  
Candace - Hello again.  
  
Luv-jinxy - don't worry, I didn't think you were complaining. It sorta gets on my nerves when the speaking is like that, too - its not until I started posting myself that I realised it's the site, not the writers.  
  
Lady Godiva - Lucius is a jerk! All in agreement with this statement, raise your hand! *waves both hands around in the air*  
  
Midnight Goddess - Poor Lily! Thank you!  
  
Jimbiny Lupin-Wood - OMG, I thought the underwear bit was funny too *sniggers also* even if I do say so myself  
  
Clearbrook - Yea! Let's go give Malfoy what he deserves! Grab your torches and pitchforks! Lol. Sugar rules.  
  
Carolinus Took - Of course I will! There is no way I am stopping this! I will continue til the end! (I actually have the last chapter written out already, ready for when the end comes. And I'm doing a sequel, ~The World Through The Eyes of a Pure Blood (James duh)~ and maybe ~The World Through The Eyes of the Guy That Started it all (Voldemort) ~ and perhaps even ~The World Through The Eyes Of Someone Completely Different (a random character)~  
  
Well, thanx again everybody! Feel free to drop me a line at hot_sezzy_babe@hotmail.com , I lurve hearing from you guys!  
  
Bye bye!  
  
Luv Sezzie 


	10. The Yule Ball

~*~ The Yule Ball ~*~  
  
~Chocolates  
  
~Holly  
  
~Red and green  
  
~Invitations  
  
~Special creations  
  
~Tabletops all clean  
  
~Magic dinners  
  
~Always grinners  
  
~Special time  
  
~Take a dime  
  
~Invest in special gift  
  
~Make it special  
  
~Enjoy your Christmas time  
  
OK, I admit it - I had fun flying to the Potters' house. And yes, I was laughing when I hopped off that broom. I guess I couldn't help myself - I was just in a happy mood.  
  
'See, you had fun,' James said in an I-told-you-so voice.  
  
'No I didn't. I was simply petrified the whole time,' I laughed.  
  
'Liar, liar, pants on fire,' he grinned, waggling his finger at me as we walked towards his front door, our feet sinking into the snow and leaving deep prints as we went.  
  
I took a moment to admire the Potter manor. It was very large, very expensive looking, and very elaborate. It reminded me of the antique doll house my mum had up in the attic.  
  
'Wow,' was all I managed as I stood on the doorstep, gazing up at the tall two storeys as James opened the door. He just grinned and pushed the door open.  
  
'Hilary! Lily's here!'  
  
Within a few seconds, Hilary came dashing down the stairs.  
  
'Hello! You're still alive, by the looks of it,' she laughed. 'Damn. This means I don't get to kill James, doesn't it?'  
  
'Wouldn't you prefer us both alive to us both dead?' Hilary seemed to consider this for a moment.  
  
'Probably. James, did you know dad was having a family ball tomorrow evening?'  
  
He gave her a sheepish grin.  
  
'You did!' she accused. 'Nobody ever tells me anything!'  
  
'Not true. Mum told you this morning that you had to clean your room -'  
  
'James, shut up, OK? Go say hello to Sirius. He flooed while you were at Lily's.'  
  
James's eyes lit up.  
  
'Where is he?'  
  
'In the kitchen. Where else?' Hilary said as if this were the most obvious thing in the world, rolling her eyes. 'He's already polished off the biscuits; I think he's onto the Honeydukes supply.' James didn't need to be told a second time. He jumped up the stairs, two at a time, and walked into a room that I supposed either was or led to the kitchen.  
  
Hilary rolled her eyes again.  
  
'Boys,' she muttered. 'Come on, I'll show you your room.'  
  
She lead me around the back of the stairs and through a long, white corridor that had many doors, all numbered. She stopped outside the one marked twenty-seven.  
  
'This is one of my favourites,' she grinned, gesturing for me to go in. So I did.  
  
The first thing that hit me was the whiteness. Absolutely everything was white, the exception of numerous light blue decors on the walls and bedspread.  
  
'Wow,' was the word that eventually came out of my mouth.  
  
'Yeah, well, time for you to explore later. Mum wants us downstairs for dress measurements pronto.'  
  
'Dress measurements?' I echoed inquiringly.  
  
'For the ball, that I was oh-so-well-informed about,' Hilary said dryly. 'I'd only just found out before you arrived.'  
  
'We're getting a dress made?'  
  
'Yep.'  
  
'I can't do that,' I protested.  
  
'Why not?'  
  
'Because it's not... right. And I don't have any money to pay for it.' 'Don't be a silly goose, Lily. If there's one thing we do have lots of, it's money. We can afford to have a new dress made every month that's only going to be worn once.'  
  
'I hope you were exaggerating then.'  
  
'Not really, it was more of an understatement.'  
  
* * *  
  
'How do I look?' I asked, hearing someone enter the room while I was twirling around in front of the mirror in my new dress. It was gorgeous; deep, emerald green with peppermint underskirts.  
  
'Amazing,' replied a voice, but it wasn't Hilary's, as I had presumed it would be. I whirled around to face James.  
  
'James... I thought you were Hilary...'  
  
'Don't trust my judgement?' he grinned. I ducked my head.  
  
'Did you want anything in particular?' I asked politely, hoping I didn't sound rude.  
  
'Actually, I was wondering if you would accompany me to the ball,' he said with a sweeping bow. 'My dad has insisted we have partners, and I doubt Hilary wanted to go with her brother, so I think she's going with Sirius.'  
  
I nodded.  
  
'Sure. It's not like I've got anyone else to go with,' I laughed.  
  
'Cool. I'll leave you to it, then. See you tonight.'  
  
And with that, James Potter disappeared with a bow, closing the door behind him.  
  
* * *  
  
'Lily?' echoed Hilary's voice. I opened the door.  
  
'Hello,' I greeted, letting her in. It was about six fifty two, which gave us approximately eight minutes before the ball started.  
  
'You look awesome,' she told me for the fifth time that night.  
  
'So do you,' I said honestly.  
  
Hilary was wearing deep crimson, and it suited her perfectly. I loved the way she had her hair, too. She had it curled, and piled up on top of her head in a bun-like twist. She looked really nice.  
  
'You're so lucky,' I sighed, flopping back on my bed, careful not to crease my dress. 'I've always fantasised that I was a beautiful princess with millions of gorgeous dresses.' 'Well, now your dreams have come true,' Hilary grinned. I smiled, and looked at the clock. Hilary followed my gaze.  
  
'Let's go, shall we?'  
  
'Yep. You going with Sirius?'  
  
'Uh-huh. Did James ask you?' Hilary asked coyly, subconsciously twisting a curl around her finger.  
  
'Yes. Why?' I asked, seeing the knowing look on her face.  
  
'I don't know,' she shrugged. 'It's just... weird, the way he gets on with you. When I first saw him with you, I thought he liked you, but now I'm not so sure. I mean, he does like you, as a friend - but I don't actually think he sees you as anything else. And that's just strange for James. I was actually surprised he hadn't asked you out yet when I found out that you'd been on the train together.'  
  
'I'm not really interested in having a boyfriend at the moment. I'm only eleven; I think that's a bit young to be taking boys seriously like that yet.'  
  
'Oh, I agree - that's just not how James works. But you're lucky, getting on as well as you do with him. He's a great judge of character, and if he really likes you, it's a compliment. You've got a friend for life with him; he's one of the most fiercely loyal people I've known. If I weren't his sister, and sworn to making life hell for him, I'd cherish him as a friend. He's a good person.'  
  
I nodded.  
  
'He is. You're lucky to have him as brother. That should make you love him all the more!' I grinned, poking her in the ribs.  
  
'Oh, he's a great person and all, but you'd feel sorry for anyone that had to live with him day in, day out. He's very tiresome and annoying sometimes. He eats everything in sight, and I swear you'd have a heart attack if you saw his room, Lily. I do, and I'm not even a neat freak like you. I mean, my room's untidy, but his looks like a bomb hit it.' I laughed.  
  
'I can just imagine, from what I've seen of their dormitories. A group of almost-teenage boys, their gear and an empty room is a recipe for disaster, if you ask me.' 'I honestly feel sorry for whoever marries him. And Sirius, too. They're like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.'  
  
We had reached the large French doors leading to the ballroom. Hilary peered around. 'It's packed,' she whispered.  
  
'You both look stunning,' came a voice. We turned around.  
  
'Thank you, Mrs Potter. Your dress is beautiful, too,' I said politely.  
  
Mrs Potter - whom I had been introduced to as Sarah - smiled. She was wearing a royal blue velvet dress, and it suited her.  
  
'Please, call me Sarah.'  
  
'Sarah, have you seen James or Sirius?' Hilary asked.  
  
I still hadn't quite adjusted to the fact that Hilary and James were expected to call both their parents by their first names. I guessed it was just a formal thing that rich people did.  
  
'They're coming down now. I'd better go find Charles. I'll see you later on, girls.' 'Bye, Sarah,' I said, her name coming out rather awkwardly.  
  
'Goodbye. I hope you have a lovely evening, Lily. You too, Hilary-Lavinia. Enjoy yourselves, and don't cause too much trouble.'  
  
'Why, hello ladies,' Sirius called as he and James appeared on the landing behind us. 'Where have you guys been?' Hilary demanded.  
  
I gave the two a once-over. Both were wearing smart but casual suits; James's black, Sirius's dark blue. They didn't look half bad.  
  
'Getting ready,' James defended. 'Sirius couldn't tie his tie.'  
  
I snorted. I could just imagine Sirius attempting to tie his tie. Attempt seemed to be the operative word.  
  
'Let's go, shall we?' Sirius prompted, trying to draw attention away from himself. He offered Hilary his arm. James did the same to me. I accepted it tentatively, and we stepped into the hall.  
  
It was big. Very, very, big. And filled with people.  
  
'Your dad knows a lot of people,' I said, dumbfounded.  
  
'Yeah, he does,' James laughed.  
  
'James!' boomed a voice from across the room. We both looked over to where it had come from. Charles Potter was tapping his foot impatiently over the other side of the hall.  
  
'Come on,' James sighed, making his way through the crowd of people. I followed, trying not to trip on my dress.  
  
'You called?' James asked, when we had reached our destination. Mr Potter ignored him for a moment.  
  
'Lilian. Good evening,' he said gruffly. 'Good evening, sir.' I looked down at my feet. Mr Potter wasn't exactly on my favourite persons list.  
  
'James - I want you to stay away from Sirius tonight. I want you to talk to your relatives and behave yourself, not cause havoc. I've already told your sister the same; you have your own partner to entertain and I know all too well what will follow if you and Sirius spend enough time together talking.'  
  
'Yes, Charles,' James said obediently, but he rolled his eyes skyward.  
  
'Very well. Off you go.'  
  
When we were far enough away, I turned to James.  
  
'That was a bit harsh,' I commented.  
  
'Not really,' James laughed, his eyes twinkling mischievously. 'I don't blame him, really. Considering what Sirius and me did last time there was an important function on.'  
  
'Why? What did you do?' I asked warily.  
  
James smiled mysteriously.  
  
'Nothing. Care to dance?'  
  
I looked up at him, shocked.  
  
'James, I don't know how,' I said bluntly.  
  
'It's cinch,' he said firmly, taking my right hand in his and putting his left on my waist.  
  
'Shoulder?' I asked hesitantly.  
  
'Or just my arm,' he said. I put my hand on his shoulder.  
  
'I have never felt more out of place in my life. I feel like some kind of social misfit.'  
  
'You're just not used to it,' James laughed. 'You're doing fine. I'd say you're doing better than Sirius, and he must have been to about a dozen of these things.'  
  
I smiled self-consciously at him, then took a look around the room. Everyone was dancing. Sirius and Hilary were laughing - no doubt at one of Sirius's jokes; Charles and Sarah Potter were in the middle of the room, also swaying along with the music.  
  
The dancing seemed to go on forever.  
  
'It sucks; I know,' James grinned, obviously noticing my boredom. 'It goes until twelve, but dad only expects us to stay until nine.'  
  
'That's a relief. I think my feet would have dropped off by twelve.'  
  
'Is James working you too hard, dear?'  
  
'Aunt May! I didn't realise you were here,' James said to the older looking woman that had spoken.  
  
'Oh, only because obligation, James. Only because of obligation. You know these do's are a load of nonsense for me.'  
  
'I know exactly what you are talking about. Lily and I were just discussing how boring it is.' 'So that's her name, is it? I finally get to meet her,' the woman said, not unkindly. I smiled.  
  
'Nice to meet you,' I said, shaking her hand.  
  
'The pleasure's all mine, Lily. Call me May. I'm James and Hilary's Aunt.'  
  
'Is April here?' James asked after kissing his aunt on the cheek.  
  
'Yes, with her new boyfriend. I can't say I like him much, though. Go over and see them. But be interested to know what you think of him.'  
  
'Will do. It was lovely to see you, Aunt May.'  
  
'You too, James. And I hope you and Lily have a wonderful evening.'  
  
'Thank you,' I smiled, then decided I had better go after James, who seemed to have spotted someone and was walking over to them.  
  
'James!' she exclaimed. I deduced that this was April.  
  
'April,' he grinned, opening his arms. She hugged him tightly.  
  
'I haven't seen you in ages. I've just been speaking to that sister of yours. She told me you and Sirius were banned form talking to each other,' she laughed.  
  
'And I'm sure you can guess why. Lily, this is my cousin April. April, this is Lily, a friend of mine and Hil's from school.'  
  
'Hi,' April said kindly.  
  
April looked about James's age, and was reasonably pretty. She seemed to have what was the trademark Potter hair for girls - a golden, caramel brown. She wore it out, and it reached down below her waist. The length amazed me. She was wearing a sky blue dress that brought out her eyes.  
  
'Hi,' I replied, smiling back at her. I had decided that she seemed like a nice enough person.  
  
Since my discussion with James about first impressions, I had for some reason found myself looking people over more thoroughly, and trying to make a judgement about them. Don't ask me why, but I just always did it after that little conversation on the train.  
  
The rest of the evening wasn't all that exciting; we chatted to April and her boyfriend, Matt (James decided that he agreed with Aunt May, and didn't like him that much). Ate food. Drank punch (Non-alcoholic, to James's disgust). And that was it, pretty much. By the time nine o'clock rolled around, we couldn't leave quicker. James quickly said some hurried goodbyes to his relatives, gave April a more thorough farewell, then practically dragged me out of the hall.  
  
'Do you want to go get changed?' he asked. I nodded, so we made for the corridor to the left.  
  
'God I hate those things,' he sighed as we walked up the stairs towards my room.  
  
'No offense to your family; the decorations and everything were great, but I can think of better things I'd rather have been doing.'  
  
'No offense taken. But did you see Hilary and Sirius leave? The snuck out at about eight thirty! No fair,' James whined.  
  
We had reached the door to my room by then.  
  
'Coming back out, or are you going to retire for the night?' he inquired. I shrugged.  
  
'What would we be doing if I came out?'  
  
'I don't know. Hilary probably won't want to come, but Sirius and I would find something to do. You'll be staying with Hilary, I suppose?'  
  
'Fraid so. Sorry, but I haven't spoken to her in a whole couple of hours!' I said dramatically.  
  
'Oh my gosh, how did you survive?' James joked.  
  
'Well, goodnight, I guess. See you tomorrow.'  
  
'See you tomorrow,' James replied, kissing my lightly on the lips. I gave him a surprised look, but he simply pointed up. Hanging above my door was a sprig of mistletoe.  
'Later, Lily.'  
  
~*~AUTHOR'S NOTE~*~  
  
OK, I know that was really crappy but I've had writers block for a bit and wanted to get it over and done with so I can get back on track. The purpose of that was mainly to introduce April, coz she's got a bit to do with the story later on.  
  
Um, did that kiss count as romance? Probably not. Well I'm sorry, but I still think it's too early. So that'll have to do!  
  
Well, I'm typing this during my Computing period, and posting it later, therefore have no access to my reviews at the moment, so I'll thank you all in the next chapter, k? Sorry this is so rushed!  
  
Bye  
  
Sezzie  
  
PS: OK, I don't know if I've said this before, but if you want to be on the mailing list, please put your email in a review. Next time I post I'll go thru and add all the addresses to a mailing list, k? So tell me now. K, thanx. Bi bi 


	11. The Secret Life Of Sirius Black

~*~ The Secret Life Of Sirius Black ~*~  
  
~Dig in  
  
~And take the time  
  
~To find  
  
~Something worthwhile  
  
~About me  
  
~Go ahead  
  
~And look inside  
  
~And see  
  
~Something worth knowing  
  
~About me  
  
~So much  
  
~For you to learn  
  
~To know  
  
~To understand and take me  
  
~Seriously [Sirius-ly]  
  
Sirius Black intrigued me. There was something about him, that, no matter what he did, how much he annoyed you or how much you wanted to hate him, you really couldn't help liking him. Because Sirius Black was a likable person.  
  
He was funny, for example. I would bet my money on it that any story that involved Sirius had at least a little humour to it. I can tell you right now that I know every Sirius/serious joke in the book. With someone else I'd probably get sick of it, but it just never grew old with Sirius.  
  
'Hey, I'm not joking about this. I'm serious.'  
  
I mean, the moment one of us said that you could see everyone just waiting for Sirius to throw out something along the lines of, 'No you're not, I'm Sirius.' And it was funny every time.  
  
I can understand why everyone seems to think Sirius doesn't take things seriously. But this isn't true. I happen to know that there are five things he takes very seriously: food, girls, pranks, annoying Snape, abusing Malfoy, and his friends. In that order.  
  
And I'm sorry, but no matter how much McGonagall raves on that Sirius really needs to stop wasting time and study, she can't deny the fact that he is top of his class. Alongside James, that is.  
  
Anyhow, no matter how much of a lovable person Sirius was, I was finding it very hard to tolerate him this particular evening. 'Sirius, stop it,' I said absent mindedly.  
  
The week had passed since I had gone to stay at the Potter's, and I was back home. I'd had a really great time. The Potters went all out at Christmas, and had the whole traditional thing. Trees, snow, yule logs, stockings. And the food! It almost rivaled Hogwarts.  
  
But anyway, Sirius had somehow convinced me into having a New Years party. And I had amazingly somehow convinced my mother. So we invited a few people: Sirius, James, Hilary, April, April's boyfriend Matt, Bella, Joey, René and Melody, David - Bella's cousin that was staying with them, but was coming late because of one reason or another, Peter - but he was busy, and three other friends of mine - Avril, Imogen and Tristan. Remus was possibly not coming, but he'd said he'd try. The party was scheduled for seven, and it was four. We still had to organise food.  
  
Sirius was sitting cross-legged on the floor, doing whatever he could in his power to aggravate my cat. Storm Shadow was mewing pitifully.  
  
'Sirius, leave him alone.'  
  
'He loves it.'  
  
'No, he doesn't. Leave him alone.'  
  
Shadow hissed as if in agreement, and ran to stand at my feet, arching his back and flicking his tail angrily. I reached down and patted him behind the ears. He purred and looked at Sirius smugly in triumph.  
  
'Aw, is that Sirius annoying my poor little Shadow?' I cooed. Shadow rubbed up against my legs in approval of the attention I was giving him before slinking off into the shadow being cast by the staircase. Sirius gaped at him as he disappeared from sight.  
  
'He just disappeared!' he exclaimed.  
  
'I know. He has the gift of stealth, Sirius. He can fade into shadows,' I said matter-of-factly.  
  
'He has the gift of stealth, Sirius. He can fade into shadows,' Sirius mimicked in a girly voice. I rolled my eyes and chose to ignore him.  
  
'What are we going to have to eat?' I asked. My mum was upstairs having a sleep, and had left a note saying that if we wanted to bake anything the stuff was in the kitchen. Otherwise we could order in. 'Just do pizza or something,' Bella called from her position on the floor. She was wrestling with Hilary.  
  
At that moment in time, I had Hilary, Bella, James and Sirius over. I was expecting Joey at any minute. They had all offered to help with the organisation.  
  
'Do you want dessert or anything?'  
  
'A cake!' Sirius called gleefully as he chased Storm Shadow around the Christmas tree.  
  
'Meringue!' James argued. I rolled my eyes. If there was one thing I had learnt from staying with the Potters, it was that James Harold Potter loved meringue.  
  
'Scones,' Bella insisted. 'They're easy, and that way you can have them in a basket or something and people can just grab them when they feel like it.'  
  
'Cool. Um, we should start now, to allow some time for, er, mishaps,' I said delicately, trying not to look at Sirius. But I think he got what I was getting at anyway, because he narrowed his eyes at me and poked his tongue out. 'Right back atcha, Siri.'  
  
'I'll have you know I am a great cook.'  
  
This was where I wasn't sure whether or not to trust him. Hilary and James I knew for sure couldn't cook, because they had magic to do everything they needed, and were waited on twenty four seven anyway. But Sirius lived with muggles. For all I knew, he could have been the next Jamie Oliver.  
  
Just then, the doorbell rang.  
  
'Joey's here!' I cried, jumping over Hilary and Bella to get to the door. I opened it breathlessly.  
  
'Hey,' I breathed.  
  
'Hi,' she said, stepping inside. I gave her the once over.  
  
Joey had definitely changed since I had last seen her before school started. Just a few small changes, but they were there. For one, she was wearing designer jeans, a black tank and a mahogany fur coat. A couple of months ago you wouldn't have seen Joey in anything more look-good than a unicorn t-shirt and some worn-out slacks. The old Joey Taylor wouldn't have bothered with make up, either, yet I noticed that she was wearing eyeshadow and lip gloss. And I think it was the first time I had ever seen Joey without her trademark ponytail. Her hair was up in a clip.  
  
'Looking good, girl. Has the good old unicorn been replaced?' I laughed as we walked into the kitchen.  
  
'That old thing? I got rid of it just after you left.'  
  
I raised an eyebrow, but said no more.  
  
'We're in the kitchen!' James called.  
  
'Oh no,' I muttered, and dared to look around the doorway. Bella and Hilary were in hysterics while Sirius was parading an apron and chef hat. The sight was rather amusing. James was sitting on the floor looking extremely guilty.  
  
And the room was covered in flour.  
  
'My mum's kitchen!' I gasped. 'How did you guys make that kind of mess in five minutes?'  
  
'Lily, we're talking about Sirius Black and James Potter here,' Hilary said dryly. 'Hey, Joey,' she added.  
  
'Hey,' Joey replied with a smile.  
  
'James did that, not me!' Sirius protested firmly, folding his arms. I slowly let my gaze wander over to lock James's. My own arms crossed slowly over my chest.  
  
'Uh... sorry?' he offered.  
  
'I should think so! James, look at this place!'  
  
'Take some chill pills, Lily. It'll be cleaned up in no time,' Joey said coolly. James's eyes broke away from mine to meet Joey's. Mine, on the other hand, narrowed in amusement as I watched the look the two shared. They had a thing for each other!  
  
Hiding my smile, I kicked James lightly with my foot.  
  
'Out,' I sighed, pointing to the door. He stood up and dusted himself off. As he walked past, I grabbed the shoulder of his shirt.  
  
'She's taken, James, and so are you,' I warned quietly.  
  
'OK,' Joey said. 'What now?'  
  
'We cook,' I replied.  
  
'Who's doing what?' Joey asked, opening the pantry door to search for ingredients.  
  
'You can leave the scones up to me and Sirius. He knows what he's doing,' Hilary said seriously.  
  
'Are we talking about the same Sirius Black here?' I asked. 'What do you take me for?'  
  
'Relax, Lily. He'll surprise you. He certainly shocked me.'  
  
Half an hour later, Hilary and Sirius had finished the scones and were waiting for them to cook. Meanwhile, Joey, Bella and I were still working in the kitchen. In silence.  
  
'So how's Sam, Jo?' I asked. Joey looked up at me in surprised. I could tell he had been the last thing on her mind when James had been around. 'Huh? Oh, great. He's been heaps nicer. It's like a totally different person.'  
  
I nodded as the awkwardness settled in again. It was really starting to bug me. Just then, one of the worst possible things that could have happened occurred. Bella blew up the oven. While Joey's cakes were inside.  
  
Do not ask me how exactly Bella blew up the oven, but she did. And the one thing I knew was that there would be no hope whatsoever of salvaging those cakes which, might I add, Joey had been very proud of.  
  
So we all froze. Me, with my hands in a pile of dough, waiting for the claws to come out. Joey, washing some dishes, staring in surprise at Bella and the oven. And Bella, sitting on her backside in front of the oven in shock, her face smeared with black.  
  
And then something unexpected happened.  
  
Joey began to laugh.  
  
It started out as a small giggle, then slowly grew louder, until she had to lean on the bench for support. And it wasn't mean, or cruel, it was a warm, happy laugh. And it caught on.  
  
Bella and I took one look at each other and joined in. Soon, all three of us were on the floor, faces smudged with flour. We were laughing so loud that Hilary, James and Sirius came in to see what was going on. We even woke up my mum.  
  
But inwardly, I breathed a great sigh of relief. Because I thought my two best friends had just taken the first step to accepting each other.  
  
* * *  
  
Sirius Black, as I discovered, wasn't entirely incapable of being serious. For example, he was surprisingly precise with his cooking. I had expected a big mess and at least half a dozen explosions and small fires. But what had I gotten? Nothing. Sure, the kitchen had been covered in flour, but that was courtesy of James Potter. And I know now to never let Bella near an oven. In fact, I learnt a lot about my friends that afternoon. But Sirius most of all.  
  
Take his pranking. Did you know that he actually takes the time to draft all his prank ideas and plot out maps and so on? I didn't. I'd just thought it came to him naturally. Which it obviously does, but it just proves that all talents take work I suppose.  
  
And you never would have picked it - but Sirius Black had done ballet lessons. Yeah - three things I learnt about Sirius that I had never known before and that had shocked me were that, the fact that he was scared of the dark and that he knew 'The Far Away Tree' off by heart. (I mean, Sirius? Read? Maybe he hired a tape.)  
  
He was also, as I quickly found out, very good at getting people to loosen up.  
  
My eyes wandered around the room.  
  
It was party time. James was talking to my friend Avril, and looked a little uncomfortable. I was guessing she was asking about where he went to school. That was always a tricky one.  
  
I also noticed that my Hogwarts friends, excluding James, were all over one side of the room, whereas my old friends were on the other. So much for my hopes that they'd get to know each other better. Oh well.  
  
'So Lily, how is this new school of yours?' Tristan asked casually, leaning up against the wall next to me.  
  
Tristan was actually more Joey's friend than mine, but we had slowly grown closer over the years and he was a nice enough person to be around, so I'd invited him. And was beginning to be glad I had.  
  
'Oh, it's great. France is awesome.'  
  
'You'll have to teach me French,' he laughed. 'I can't understand anything my teacher says. He's not very good at explaining it.'  
  
'Oh, I actually don't know any French. It's an all-British school, mostly, so I don't need to. The older students learn it, though,' I lied. 'I've still got a few years to go.'  
  
'That's odd,' Tristan laughed. 'So do you get to do any sight seeing?'  
  
'Nup. We have to stay on campus. Which is pretty much this big castle surrounded by fields and forests. I might as well be back in Britain,' I laughed. Tristan smiled.  
  
'Sounds more interesting than Stonewall. Stupid dump that it is,' he sighed rolling his eyes. Seeing Sirius sneaking up on Storm Shadow out of the corner of my eye, I decided that he could use a distraction. And considering that my friends weren't mixing too well, I thought I'd give them a little shove.  
  
'So Tristan, have you read Romeo and Juliet?'  
  
'Yeah, we're doing it in English. I don't get the story though. I think it's way too complicated for our year level.'  
  
'Maybe I should introduce you to my friend Sirius,' I said slowly. I'd have to tread carefully here. I didn't want to sound rude. 'He... er, knows a lot about Romeo and Juliet. He has a way of making sure you never forget it,' I said truthfully, his antics on the train coming to mind.  
  
'Cool,' Tristan shrugged. 'I'm willing to try anything. English isn't a subject I can afford to fail.'  
  
'Oi, Siri! Over here!' I called, just as he was about to ambush Storm Shadow. The cat turned at the noise, and Sirius scowled.  
  
'What?'  
  
'Come here. There's someone I'd like you to meet...'  
  
* * *  
  
The party wasn't as much of a disaster as I'd thought it was going to be. Tristan and Sirius got on pretty well, and Sirius eventually introduced Tristan to James. I was glad that Avril at least was making an effort of talking to people. Joey had been a lot more civil towards Bella since the oven incident, and even that was better than the previous hostility. Things were looking brighter.  
  
About half an hour into the party, the doorbell rang. I made my way to the door, Bella close behind. I opened the door to be met by a tall boy with dark brown curls and large brown eyes.  
  
'Davide!' Bella exclaimed. 'Buonasera!' [David! Good evening!]  
  
'Buonasera, Arabella! Come stai?' [Good evening, Arabella! How are you?]  
  
'Molto bene. E tu?' [Very good. And you?]  
  
'Bene. E come ti chiami?' he asked, gesturing to me. [Good. And what is your name?]  
  
'Questa è la mia amica, Lilianã. Lilianã non parlare la tua lingua.' [This is my friend, Lily. Lily does not speak your language.]  
  
David nodded.  
  
'Buongiorno, Lilianã. Come stai?' he queried. I had no clue what he had just said.  
  
'He's asking how are you,' Bella translated.  
  
'Oh! Good, thank you.'  
  
'Bene, grazie,' she told him. He grinned at me.  
  
'Prego.'  
  
'You're welcome,' Bella converted. 'Lilianã è mia amica di scuola. A abita a Surrey.' [Lily is my friend from school. She lives in Surrey.] To me, she added, 'David goes to a smaller school of magic in Europe called Calberzio. Hogwarts and Beauxbatons are the main two, but there are a few others scattered around the place.'  
  
'Do you like it there?' I asked.  
  
'Tu piache Calberzio?' Bella echoed.  
  
'Si. Io piache molte.'  
  
'Yes, I like it a lot.'  
  
I nodded.  
  
'Does he live in Italy?'  
  
'No, but he used to. They moved here a couple of days ago. He doesn't know much English.'  
  
'Che?' asked David. [What?]  
  
'Tu parlare piccolo inglese,' Bella explained. [You speak little English.]  
  
'Si. Io non parlare inglese bene.'  
  
'He said that he doesn't speak English very well.'  
  
David whispered something to Bella in Italian, laughing. Bella gaped at him.  
  
'Davide! Non appropriato!' she exclaimed. [David! Not appropriate!]  
  
'What did he say?' I asked curiously.  
  
'He said that if all the girls over here look like you, then he's lucky. It would be a country full of sexy girls,' Bella laughed. I blushed and self- consciously tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.  
  
As we spoke, Davide had sat down on my mum's lounge. The lounge my mother never let anyone sit on. I quickly whispered to Bella, who frowned at him.  
  
'Davide, impiede. Non piede giu a la sofa, comprehendo?' [David, stand up! Don't sit down on the couch, understand?]  
  
David laughed.  
  
'Si, cara cousina. Comprehendo.' [Yes, dear cousin. I understand.]  
  
'How old is he?' I asked.  
  
'To tell the truth, I don't really know. Quanti anni hai, Davide?' [How many years (old, are you), David?]  
  
'Tredici.'  
  
'Thirteen,' Bella told me.  
  
I watched in interest as Storm Shadow faded into view and slinked out of the shadows to inspect David. David bent down to pat him.  
  
'Questo che?' [What (who) is this?]  
  
'Questo e un gatto di Lilianã,' Bella replied. [This is Lily's cat.]  
  
'Oh, si. Un gatto piccolo bello.' [Oh, yes. This is a handsome little cat.]  
  
'He likes Storm Shadow. David worked in an animal shelter in Rome. They have so many stray animals over there.'  
  
'Che?' queried David. [What?]  
  
'Tuo lavoro nell casa di animali nell Roma, no, Davide?,' Bella told him. [You worked in a house of animals (animal shelter) in Rome, didn't you, David?]  
  
'Si - molto gatti e molto cani nell Roma. É terrible.' [Yes - many cats and many dogs in Rome. It is terrible.]  
  
'Come into the dining room,' I said, and we all walked back to where everyone else was.  
  
'Oh, you'll have to excuse me a moment,' I said politely after listening to Bella and David conversing in Italian for a few minutes. They nodded, and I left them to themselves.  
  
'Having fun?' asked a voice from behind me. I spun around.  
  
'Remus! You made it! When did you get here?'  
  
'Your mum just let me in. She said she called to you, but the music was up too loud I guess. How's it been?'  
  
'Not as bad as I had expected it to be,' I admitted.  
  
'Lily, if anything that Sirius Black organizes goes down the drain, it goes down in style. That is the one thing you never have to worry about. Sirius would rather eat hippogriff dung than have an unsuccessful party.'  
  
'It's going pretty good,' I said with satisfaction.  
  
'I see James hasn't wasted any time in getting over Paige,' Remus commented. I turned to see Joey and James dancing, grinning broadly at each other.  
  
'And she's taken,' I mused. 'When did James break up with Paige?'  
  
'Just before school finished, actually. His father wasn't very happy.'  
  
'Oh.'  
  
The night ended with a bang - literally. Courtesy of some great bon-bons that had pretty cool prizes for once. Sirius had done it all the muggle way, I might add - I had half expected a visit from the Ministry over some first-rate exposure. Overall, I think everyone had a great time.  
  
Oh yeah, did I mention that Sirius has a hidden talent? He can do the best impersonation of Mickey Mouse mimicking Donald Duck.  
  
It's amazing what you find out when you really get to know someone.  
  
~*~ AUTHOR'S NOTE ~*~  
  
OMG guys sorry this chapter took so long! I feel so bad! OK, thank you to EVERYONE that reviewed - keep it up. You've saved my back for the moment. OK, here's my thank you's. If i missed you, tell me please!  
  
PurpleYin: I don't think there was a war around then, I just invented it. It was sort of a reference to what's going on right now in Iraq, because later on we'll get to see Lily's point of view on the war.  
  
Vanessa: Thank you! I'm glad you like it! Krystal Diamond: He he. G'day Michelle. Certainly didn't expect to see you reading my story! I'll take what you said as a compliment. That was definitely nicer than the review you gave ~Family Portrait~ lol. Then again, Family Portrait is pretty sucky. He he. I'm going to flame one of your stories for revenge! He he he! Muhahaha! MY SUGAR JAR!  
  
Cleabrook: I have one person saying it did count as romance, and another saying it didn't. Oh well. I happen to think they're too young to get together yet. And you LIKED that chapter? I think it was boring. Oh well. That's a good thing, I guess.  
  
SiriDragon: I thought it was cute too :P Laters. Lol.  
  
Candace: Thanx for the tip! Yeps, I got your other review, and tried to email you but you obviously haven't got it. I've posted it down the bottom, k, so just scroll down to read it. My email is hot_sezzy_babe@hotmail.com.  
  
Clearbrook: You never knew that about Merlin's cat cause I made it up, lol! Actually, Merlin's cat was called Mim (in memory of Madam Mim, who Merlin unintentionally killed), and supposedly had the power to change it's shape for short periods of time. Betcha didn't know that, neither! But I reckon Storm Shadow is a better name than Mim. I learnt that in English. (See, I do pay attention to your lectures, Mr McGarr!)  
  
Celine: Yes, there will be a chapter where James meets Petunia. And it is going to be somewhat humorous, I can assure you. As for them being too young, I totally agree.  
  
Tinkerbellhp07: He-he. I reviewed your story. I was actually already reading it before you suggested it, I just was too lazy to review :P. I'm glad you laughed. Laughing is good. I believe laughter is very good. People who don't laugh should. It's something you just have to do to enjoy life. I love making people laugh. He-he. MY SUGAR JAR!  
  
The Elfin Child: I'm allergic to cats. *sigh*  
  
snowflake: This chapter is dedicated to you and your Sirius. Did you like it?  
  
SiriDragon: James's dad turns into an even bigger jackass soon, I promise. And I'll introduce him better later on. Evil character. *shudders*  
  
jodz: I feel very honoured (should i?) I really like where this story is going, too, which is a good sign. Sometimes I lose interest and cut it off quickly, but I have big plans for this one. It's already about seventy pages long and I haven't even finished first year, yet I'm planning to go until her death. Which is no mean feat. I hope I don't lose interest! *crosses fingers* Not now I have too many faithful readers!  
  
SquorpionLady: You'll have to tell me your other fave so I can read it. By the way I love your story! I can't remember the name, but I just know I've read one of your stories that I really liked. Anyway, thanks a lot! And yes, I'm a girl!  
  
Shinning Crystal: OMG thank you for the email and for helping me out. I'm slowly getting over the whole WB thing. And there's no way I'd give up this story just because of it!  
  
MaNa SaMaH: *blushes* Why thank you!  
  
Danimpa: Patience is a virtue! Lol. Sorry I made you guys wait so long. You all rock my world. And I agree they're too long; but they're actually eleven & twelve, not fifteen. Mary: Sorry. They aren't getting together til sixth year. And that's final I'm afraid.  
  
Katelyn: You rule, darling! Thank you for contributing!  
  
Harr`s girl: That's a really nice compliment to get. Thanks!  
  
Moneky-see-monkey-do: I like English, but my opinion is that school work is for school. Can you believe they gave us homework on the holidays? That's just gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!  
  
Sam: I'll keep it coming!  
  
LizMaurder4eva: Yep. Definitely one of my fave reviewers!  
  
Jodz: You tell him!  
  
SiriDragon: Mr English teacher's reply: *raised eyebrows and mysterious smile* okaaaaaaay kind of creepy but that's him for you.  
  
Angelxd14: I'm breathing again! I'm breathing!  
  
~Anna Lady Rianna Dragoneye: Thank you for the reviews! Has anyone ever told you how much you rule?  
  
Fanficfan: Thanx a lot! Everyone helped heaps!  
  
¤~*Wish*~¤ :This story's going right until the end when she dies.  
  
Wish Willow Hawkson: Awwwwwww shux!  
  
Paisley: :)  
  
Candy: Thank you for the faithful reviews!  
  
Liat86: They'll get older. They get older every day! Lol.  
  
Elisa-girl: Elisa to the rescue! Yay!  
  
Nellie: Thank you!  
  
Snowflake: Yeah, I do all the poems. You like?  
  
Ok, if you reviewed, and I didn't mention you, I'll mention you next chapter. It's mostly those twenty odd people who helped me with my fifteen reviews. Everyone else will be thanked in the next chap, k? Get it? Cool. Also, I might only do thank yous every second chap coz I don't always have the time to read my reviews and write thank yous when I do a chap. But I do make sure I mention everyone. If I miss you out, tell me off.  
  
Bye.  
  
Sezzie. 


	12. Home Sweet Home

~*~ Home, Sweet Home ~*~  
  
~This place seems to me  
  
~Like it means something special  
  
~A really special treat  
  
~It makes me feel complete  
  
~Like a second home  
  
~Home away from home  
  
~This place seems to me  
  
~Like it means something important  
  
~Something really rare  
  
~I can't help but care  
  
~That it's my special home  
  
~Home, sweet home  
  
Going back to Hogwarts was great, in a way. I felt kind of guilty leaving my mum and Joey and all, but Hogwarts had become my second home very quickly. But there's always something lurking around the corner.  
  
I was on the train, sitting with Bella, Hilary, Toni and Jessica. Yes, Jessica Mornington. We were currently regretting having asked her about her family. Because, after her initial look of delight, she had brought out a photo album and insisted on telling us every single detail about every single person in every single photo.  
  
'You see them two there? That's Candy and Liz. Their names are actually Candace and Elizabeth, but they don't really use them names. It's kind of like you guys, you know. How you don't use your full names? And that - that's my cousin Nellie and her owl Snowflake. Snowflake is actually black, as you can see - don't ask me why she called her owl that. And her, oh, you'd probably love her, Lily. That's Elisa, and you remind me so much of her. Oh, and these guys are my cousins, too. That's Liat, that's Paisley, and then there's Willow and her owl Wish - she's really cute, you know - and Rianna and Angel. I think that's a nice name, don't you? I'd love to be called Angel. And Jody, that's a cool name too. Ooh, and there's Sam. And Katelyn! She's a strange one. She's the monkey-see-monkey-do kind of girl. And there's my two best friends, Danimpa and Samah. Mum reckons that my name is an attraction for other people with weird names -'  
  
'What?' I mouthed to Hilary.  
  
Jessica had to be the most common name in the world.  
  
'- Crystal and Siri are twins - wouldn't that be wicked? I reckon it would be awesome. Crystal has this weird bug thing called Squorpion, 'cept it's not a scorpion. No one has a clue what it is. Oh yeah, and that's my godsister Celine. She's a cat person. Has about eight. You know, um, like Elfin, Clearbrook, Tinkerbell, Diamond. Don't ask me how she keeps coming up with names. I'd run out of ideas. Then there's Vanessa. She's like, my favourite cousin! She has an adopted sister called Yin, and she's like from Japan or something...'  
  
I rolled my eyes. 'Has she taken a breath since she started?' I mouthed at Bella. She tried not to giggle and shrugged before shaking her head.  
  
'I think she's had some no-slow speech pills or something,' Hilary muttered to me. I snorted.  
  
'I know someone from Japan,' Bella cut in. 'David's got an Aunt that's Japanese. I think the Japanese are really interesting,' she said, looking pointedly at me.  
  
'Oh... yeah, they are,' I agreed quickly, catching on. Jessica looked rather put-out at being interrupted, but listened patiently.  
  
Just when we were running out of things to say, a knock came to the door.  
  
'Come in,' I called. It was a mistake. When the door slid open, my gaze was immediately locked by two cold, silver eyes. Everything inside me froze. Bella drew a sharp breath and held it. Hilary's fists clenched, Toni narrowed her eyes, and Jessica didn't have a clue.  
  
'Oh, hello. Who are you? I don't think I've seen you before. What house are you in?'  
  
Malfoy ignored her completely, staring fiercely back at me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I was prickling with fear, like a cat. And I didn't like that feeling at all.  
  
I hadn't told anyone about Malfoy back home. To tell the truth, I'd forgotten him up until then. But everything soon came back to me.  
  
'What do you want, Malfoy?'  
  
'To see if you'd taken any heed of what I'd told you, Evans. You obviously chose not to.'  
  
My eyes flickered to Malfoy's feet, where I noticed Storm Shadow slipping out the door. I raised my gaze again.  
  
'I have no reason to listen to anything you tell me, Lucius,' I said slowly and firmly.  
  
'Oh, but I think you do,' he said cruelly. 'I think you have every reason to listen to me. I've already told you, Evans. Our kind don't take kindly to dirty blood like yours contaminating our school.'  
  
'Then it's lucky it's not your school,' James said loudly, walking up behind Malfoy. Storm Shadow slipped back in and rubbed up against my legs. I bent down to scratch behind his ears.  
  
'Good boy, Shadow,' I whispered.  
  
Malfoy straightened up and turned.  
  
'Oh look, here comes Potty to save the day. Again. Believe me, Potter - lay a finger on me and you'll be out of this school quicker than you can blink.'  
  
'Lay a finger on Lily and your sorry arse will be kicked out of this planet before you can blink,' James said sweetly, giving a smile. Malfoy's nostrils flared, and he looked back at me.  
  
'He's not always going to be around to protect you, Evans. So watch out when that time comes.' And with that, he left. James moved up against the door and let him pass. Once he was sufficiently far away, he spat on the ground where he had stood.  
  
'If he ever...'  
  
'James, don't worry. He's all talk,' I lied, looking pointedly at him. James and Sirius were the only two that knew the real reason I had been in the hospital wing.  
  
'Yeah, well,' he replied, for lack of retort.  
  
'He's scared of you, James. Every time you show up he can't disappear quicker.'  
  
'I have that effect on people,' James grinned. 'Are you girls right, or do you want me to stick around?'  
  
'Oh, James! What if that nasty Slytherin comes back?' Jessica asked, horrified.  
  
'I know,' Hilary said slyly. 'James, I think it's time you tell Jessica about your feelings for her,' she said solemnly. James narrowed his eyes suspiciously.  
  
'But I...'  
  
'No use hiding it any more, James,' I continued. 'Jessica, this may come as a slight shock to you, but James has had this really big crush on you ever since you arrived at the start of the year.'  
  
'You do?' she squealed. 'Ooh, James, so did I! What a funny coincidence!'  
  
'You know, you two would be wanting some privacy. Why don't you go find an empty compartment?' Bella suggested.  
  
'Yeah. You need to sort things out, I reckon,' Toni added. Jessica immediately obliged and grabbed James's hand, pulling him out of the compartment.  
  
'Ha, ha - very funny,' James muttered. 'You'll pay for this.'  
  
We all giggled as James was dragged off down the train. Toni stood and shut the door, and we all hi-fived each other.  
  
'That was hilarious,' I giggled. 'I know. Pay back on James and we lose Madam Talk-a-lot at the same time,' Hilary agreed.  
  
'Not talking about me, I hope,' came a voice as the door slid open again.  
  
'Paige!' Hilary said in an overly cheery voice.  
  
'Hi, Hils. Haven't seen you for awhile.'  
  
'I know, it's a shame. I'm sorry about you and James,' Hilary said, her tone clearly the opposite of genuine.  
  
'Oh, but no hard feelings,' the girl said with a phony smile.  
  
'Of course not!' Hilary said evenly.  
  
Paige, I presumed, was a second year. The super model type - fake, bright smiles; annoyingly white teeth and a superior air. I took an instant disliking to her. She had auburn hair and brown eyes. Snobbish nose. Don't ask me what a snobbish nose is exactly, but if there's such thing as a snobbish nose, she had one. Pointy and stick-up-ish and flared nostrils that gave the impression something smelly was right underneath them. She wasn't exactly slim, but she was the kind of person that could get away with it if she wore the right clothes. In short, I could describe her to you as a spoiled brat.  
  
'You must be Lily,' she cooed in a sickly sweet voice, extending her hand. I shook it with reluctance. As she withdrew it, she leaned closer.  
  
'Touch my boyfriend and you pay,' she muttered for only me to hear, the big smile still plastered on her face.  
  
My eyes narrowed.  
  
'James is my friend, not my boyfriend,' I hissed back.  
  
'Keep it that way,' she said in a low, icy tone, turning to smile at Bella.  
  
'And you are?'  
  
'Arabella,' Bella said shortly. Paige extended her hand, but Bella bluntly refused to shake it, giving her a coolly raised eyebrow instead. Paige's nostrils flared slightly and she drew her hand back slowly, turning to Toni.  
  
'Toni,' she said before Paige could ask. 'And you wouldn't want to shake my hand - I have leprosy and you might catch it.'  
  
'Well,' Paige said, her nose wrinkling slightly. Bella, Toni and I raised our eyebrows expectantly. Hilary appeared to be trying not laugh at our hostility.  
  
'Um, James was looking for an empty compartment further down the train, if you wanted him,' Hilary managed, putting a hand over her mouth, barely able to contain herself.  
  
'I think I'll go find him,' Paige replied. 'Thanks for your, er, help.'  
  
The minute the door shut we all burst out laughing again.  
  
'It would be just James's luck if she walked in while Jessica Mornington was trying to make out with him,' Hilary snorted.  
  
'She's the Minister's daughter?' I asked after we had all gotten over the initial hysteria if it all.  
  
'Yeah. And doesn't she know it,' Toni said, rolling her eyes. 'She's a joke.'  
  
'She's twelve years old, for god's sake. She acts like she's sixteen.'  
  
'I can see why James dumped her.'  
  
'How long did they go out for?' I queried.  
  
'Since the end of last year. Oh, she'll be out to get you, Lily. You went to the Potters' Yule Ball with her boyfriend,' Bella giggled.  
  
'I didn't know,' I said indignantly. 'Why wasn't Paige invited?'  
  
'Well, she was. Supposedly. James was meant to invite her, but he told us that she couldn't come. He never actually asked her to,' Hilary laughed. 'That's one of the main reasons they broke up. She found out from April.'  
  
'April? I can't see her mixing with Paige's type,' I said, frowning.  
  
'Oh, she didn't mean to tell her. She's in that high society group that Paige belongs to, but they don't really get along. I guess there was no one else to talk to, though, because they spoke at some stage, and April just happened to say something about the ball. Paige knew nothing about it and asked a few questions, and found out a few answers. She wasn't happy.'  
  
'Does April come to our school?'  
  
'Yeah. She's in Gryffindor, James's year. Don't see her around much, though. She's always hanging with the 'in' crowd,' Hilary said.  
  
'I've never seen her at all.'  
  
'You wouldn't have noticed because you didn't know her. You'll probably notice her a few times now you've met her.'  
  
'I guess,' I agreed. 'She seemed nice for a high society snob.'  
  
'Oh, she is. She can be just as snobby as the rest of them when she wants to be, though. Ice Queen. She's a good one to have on side. So's Brigette.'  
  
'Brigette?' Bella and I echoed, and the same time Toni asked, 'Who's Brigette?'  
  
'She's a friend of mine that I met through James and April. I'll have to introduce you to each other.' We all nodded.  
  
Then the door began to slide open again.  
  
'Geez. Who is it this time?' Bella sighed. It was James again. He looked quite flushed and his hair was even messier than usual. He sighed and leaned against the open door frame.  
  
'You guys are going to wish you were dead,' he said stonily.  
  
'Why?' I asked innocently. James's eyes, which had been staring fiercely into Hilary's, moved to lock my gaze.  
  
'Not only is that Hufflepuff bimbo already trying to plan our wedding, but guess who found me sitting in an empty compartment with another girl?'  
  
'Let me guess... wouldn't be, Paige, would it?' I exclaimed with mock surprise. His response was to slightly raise an eyebrow.  
  
'Well it's not like you're going out with her any more,' I said.  
  
'Doesn't stop her. She's still waiting for me to come crawling back to her.'  
  
'I seriously don't get all these relationships. We're not even teenagers. I mean, fine - if you're fifteen or whatever, maybe. But aren't we a bit young for that kind of level?' I asked. 'I mean it's all good and well to comment to a friend how cute a guy is, and yeah - maybe 'go out'. But everyone just seems to be taking it so seriously.'  
  
'No one can wait until they're sixteen, Lily,' Toni laughed dryly. 'Until they get there. Then they either want to slow down or go back and do it all again.'  
  
'I'd be happy to stay single. If it weren't for my dad setting me up,' James added. Hilary didn't bother to hide her laughter.  
  
'You? Single? You've been dating since you were eight, James! You're such a womanizer, I'll bet you'll have a new girlfriend before the week is out! Just look how you were with Joey at Lily's party!'  
  
James rolled his eyes.  
  
'You exaggerate,' he defended. 'I'm not that bad. Besides; that's not true. I first went out with a girl when I was seven.'  
  
'Which proves my point!' Hilary laughed, shaking her head. James straightened up with as much dignity as he could muster.  
  
'You should change into your robes. We'll be there soon,' he said, and left.  
  
'Puh. James. Single. As if,' Hilary muttered.  
  
After a few minutes we noticed the train beginning to slow, and there was a mad dash for school robes.  
  
'I didn't realise he meant this soon!' Bella shrieked, untangling her earring from her jumper so she could pull it off. 'Where are my robes?'  
  
Toni tossed her the names robes and frantically began removing her platforms so she could yank on some loafers instead. I myself just slipped right into my robes. I was already wearing a simple outfit composed of a tank, cardigan, jeans and sneakers. Casual, but quite stylish. Joey had organised it.  
  
We all dressed and dashed off the train in record timing.  
  
'This - should be put - in the - Guinness - book of - world records,' Hilary panted, leaning against a lamp post to catch her breath.  
  
'Well, lets get going, shall we?' Toni grinned, her eyes already wandering to the looming view of the castle over the lake. A broad smile of awe swept over my face as I followed her gaze.  
  
'Well girls,' I sighed happily. My breath freezing before my eyes in the cold air.  
  
'Welcome home.'  
~*~ AUTHOR'S NOTE ~*~  
  
Sorry guys, I can't be bothered writing thank yous. It's eleven thirty pm and I had a really late night last night so I'm stuffed. So I'll thank you in the next chappie. But aren't you proud I got this out so quickly? Not really but quicker than the last one. We'll fight this writer's block together! Hahaha. Ahem. Excuse me. I'm going to go now. Sorry if this chapter was boring, I made it as interesting as I could. Oh yeah and I featured everyone that had reviewed recently when I last checked in Jessica's little ramble at the start. Humungous apologies to fanficfan: I couldn't find anywhere to fit your name in, it was kinda hard. But thank you for reviewing!  
  
OK, I'm going to go to bed now before I fall asleep at the keyboard. If that chapter was gay or weird it's because I'm sleepy, OK? SO don't be too harsh.  
  
Well cyas.  
  
~Ç~ SezZie ~Á~ xoxoxo  
  
* * ( ' ""() Bye  
  
* ("( 'o', ) Bye  
  
* (")(")(,,) * *I Love U Guys SO MUCH! *mwah*  
  
(That's a koala by the way but it might look weird coz of the stupid paragraphing and spacing on this site) 


	13. Of Late Night Snacks And Pillow Fights

~*~ Of Late Night Snacks And Pillow Fights ~*~  
  
~There's something I hold onto  
  
~Smiles that help me through the bad  
  
~Thoughts so happy and light  
  
~Like eating icecreams in winter  
  
~Trampling autumn leaves  
  
~Hot spring and summer nights  
  
~Things that outshine the bad  
  
~That still make life great  
  
~And childhood seem so bright  
  
~Special cherished memories  
  
~Of late night snacks  
  
~And pillow fights  
'Lil-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Wake up!'  
  
'Sirius, go back to bed.'  
  
'No. You have to get up.'  
  
'Why?'  
  
'Er... good question. Hang on a sec. James, why does she have to get up again?'  
  
I sat up and flicked on the light. Sirius was standing at the foot of my bed, whilst James, Remus and Peter were hovering in the doorway of our dorm.  
  
'What do you guys want?' I asked groggily, rubbing my eyes.  
  
'I'm not quite sure myself, but James did mention something about wanting to make passionate love to you,' Sirius said vaguely.  
  
'Desperate are we, Potter?'  
  
'I think not,' James snorted.  
  
'Don't worry, Lily. Neither James nor Sirius have reached reproductive maturity yet,' Remus laughed.  
  
'And you have?' Sirius shot back.  
  
'I don't really want to hear this at three in the morning,' I sighed. 'What do you want?' The four exchanged glances.  
  
'We're hungry,' they all said together.  
  
'And this is my problem because... ?' I asked.  
  
'Because Sirius left my invisibility cloak in here the last time we visited,' James said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
'Well, I haven't seen it anywhere,' I said innocently.  
  
'You know, Evans - it is possible to be too innocent,' he replied, narrowing his eyes.  
  
'I'm sure it is,' I replied evenly.  
  
'Where is it, Lily, god damn it? I'm not in the mood for your games. I'm hungry,' he whined.  
  
'And I wasn't in the mood to be woken up in the middle of the night. Give me one good reason why I should give you your cloak.'  
  
'Um, let me see - because it's mine?' James said sarcastically.  
  
'Because we're hungry?' Peter offered.  
  
'Because you're madly in love with James and should do what he says?' Remus invented.  
  
'Because if you do, James will kiss you and hug you and keep you company for the night and...'  
  
'Sirius!'  
  
My mouth dropped open and I immediately lay back down.  
  
'Now I'm definitely not giving it to you.'  
  
'Come off it, Lily. I'm not going to kiss you,' James groaned.  
  
'I should hope not,' I scoffed.  
  
'But he will hold you and whisper secrets in your ear and buy you chocolates and...'  
  
'Sirius!' James and I said at the same time.  
  
'Yes?'  
  
'Would you just SHUT UP!'  
  
'OK.'  
  
'Lily, give me the cloak,' James demanded.  
  
'Or he will molest you,' Sirius added.  
  
'SIRIUS WOULD YOU GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER?' I yelled. People began to stir.  
  
'Shut up or you'll wake up the whole castle,' James hissed.  
  
'Oh, so it's OK if I get woken up, but not if everyone else does?'  
  
'Lily, you're being ridiculous.'  
  
And maybe I was. But I was also being stubborn. And when I had my mind set on something, I wouldn't budge. It was going to take a lot before I'd hand over that cloak. Which, might I add, I didn't even have. But he didn't have to know that. It was rather amusing, watching James Potter get riled up over nothing.  
  
'Am I really? I think you are. After all, you're the one in a girls dormitory, at three in the morning, telling me you're hungry. I think you should learn to eat at dinner time.'  
  
'We do,' Sirius whined.  
  
'Well I don't see the predicament then. Go back to bed.'  
  
With incredible speed, James cross the distance between himself and my bed, jumped up and landed on the foot of my bed. He rested his palms either side of my head and leaned over me, bringing his face close to mine.  
  
'Give us the cloak and we will leave you alone.'  
  
I attempted to roll over and tried to ignore the fact that James Potter was practically lying on top of me.  
  
'Stuff it, Potter.'  
  
'Where?'  
  
'Not this again. Get off me,' I snapped, sitting up again. He slowly crawled off my bed.  
  
'I don't know where your stupid cloak is. I was being annoying. I think Hilary took it the other day and hid it somewhere. You'll have to ask her.'  
  
The boys gaped at me.  
  
'You never knew?' James said disbelievingly. 'No.'  
  
'Why you...' he said mischievously. He grabbed a pillow from the foot of my bed and threw it at me.  
  
'Hey!' I immediately threw it back. Followed by another. And another.  
  
Sirius grabbed one and threw it at me. James and Remus took the other two. They both hit me at the same time.  
  
'That's it...' I said, hopping out of bed. I picked one up and began smacking any part of their male anatomy I could find.  
  
'Die, Potter!' I laughed.  
  
'Would you guys shut up?' Hilary moaned.  
  
'No!' James laughed, pummeling me on the back with a pillow.  
  
'What am I missing out on?' Bella demanded.  
  
'A pillow fight!' Sirius exclaimed gleefully, pulling back her curtains to steal one of her pillows.  
  
'Hey! Give that back!' she giggled, grabbing another to hit him with. It wasn't long before the whole dorm was up, Hilary grumbling along the way but joining in anyhow.  
  
After ten minutes of a full-on pillow war, I was tiring out. Going for one last attack, I ambushed James and pushed him to the ground, falling with him.  
  
'Pinned ya,' I grinned, flopping onto his stomach. He narrowed his eyes and rolled us over, so that he was on top.  
  
'You were saying?'  
  
Will great effort, I rolled us over a second time and immediately sat astride his stomach before he could roll a third time.  
  
'Pinned ya again,' I teased.  
  
'OK, OK! I surrender! You can get off now.'  
  
Smirking triumphantly, I hopped off and sat down next to him.  
  
'Why am I always the first person to get woken up?' I asked out of curiosity.  
  
'Because Hilary would attack me, and Bella is too far away. You're closer to the door.'  
  
'Lazy,' I snorted. 'No, just practical. And intelligent. Our dorm is set out as such: Sirius near the door, then me, Remus, then Peter, followed by the other Gryffindor guy. Marc or something. Who would you wake first?' 'You or Remus.'  
  
'Why?'  
  
'Because Sirius is too hyper, and I don't really know Peter. Remus seems the cool-headed type, so he'd probably be peaceable when woken. I don't know,' I shrugged. 'And I know you better than the others.'  
  
'Right. Same as me. With the exclusion of Hilary, I know you better. And Hilary would kill me if I woke her up. I have a logical explanation behind my actions,' he said smartly.  
  
'What are you two up to in the corner?' Bella asked breathlessly after sitting down and resting her head on Sirius's shoulder. I poked my tongue out at her.  
  
'Lily can't keep away from me. She finds me too impossibly attractive,' James answered smoothly.  
  
'Impossible; yes. Attractive; no,' I laughed. He trembled his lip and gave me puppy eyes.  
  
'Awww, but Lily! Aren't I just the tiniest bit cute?'  
  
'Nope, not really.'  
  
'I know that deep down, you think I am the most attractive guy on this earth.'  
  
'Not at all.'  
  
'Who do you think is the most attractive guy on this earth?'  
  
'Ozzy Osbourne.'  
  
'You have got to be kidding.'  
  
'I'm not.'  
  
'You have to be.'  
  
'OK, so I am. But I don't find you in any way attractive.'  
  
'You're a liar.'  
  
'Am not.'  
  
'You have to be. You told me on the first day that I was pretty handsome. So either you were lying then, or you're lying now.'  
  
I poked my tongue out at him.  
  
'Geez, you guys act like you're married already,' Remus said with a laugh. 'We are,' James replied sweetly. Sirius, Hilary and Bella snorted. Peter gave a squeak that I supposed resembled a laugh.  
  
I raised an eyebrow.  
  
'We are?'  
  
'Oh, yeah. Not yet. Um, Lily? Would you marry me?' he asked, dramatically pulling his ring off his finger.  
  
'Get a room!' Sirius cried, covering his eyes with his hands.  
  
James grinned and I took his ring off him and placed it back in his palm, closing his fingers over it.  
  
'I'm sorry James, but I feel that I am not quite ready to take that big a step in our relationship.'  
  
'We should wait-'  
  
'Like ten years -'  
  
'And maybe-'  
  
'We might be ready-'  
  
'Around then-'  
  
'But not before,' I grinned, making it clear the topic was closed. Everyone was watching us with raised eyebrows. Bella especially.  
  
'Do I have something that's yours?' I asked her pointedly.  
  
James returned Hilary's look.  
  
'See anything you like?' he added.  
  
'Oh yeah, baby. I'm in love with my brother,' Hilary said dryly, rolling her eyes. 'James, would you just hurry up and ask her out?'  
  
'Why?'  
  
'Because you like her,' Sirius quipped. 'Duh.'  
  
'I do? Lily, according to my sister and best friend, I like you. I don't dislike you, so I suppose this is true. Will you go out with me?'  
  
'No,' I said calmly.  
  
'That's lucky, because no offense, I don't exactly have those kind of feelings towards you,' he replied, eyes twinkling.  
  
'Me neither,' I laughed. 'So it's very lucky. No hard feelings?'  
  
'No hard feelings.'  
  
We shook hands.  
  
'You guys are one clown short of a circus,' Remus laughed.  
  
'I thought they were funny,' Sirius said.  
  
'That's what he meant, Sirius,' Bella sighed.  
  
'Oh.'  
  
'Sirius, why don't you just hurry up and ask Bella out?' I mimicked.  
  
'Why?'  
  
'Because you like her,' James grinned. 'Duh.'  
  
'Arabella Figg, will you go out with me?'  
  
'OK then,' Bella agreed. Sirius blinked, then jumped up and pointed at James.  
  
'HA HA! You got turned down and I didn't!'  
  
'Big deal, Sirius. I was joking. In your case, you actually have a relatively large crush on Bella, therefore it is lucky she said yes.'  
  
We all sat in silence for a minute. It was interrupted by a gurgling sound. Everyone looked at Sirius.  
  
'What? I'm hungry, OK?' he said defensively.  
  
'Met too,' James sighed.  
  
'Me three,' said Remus.  
  
'Me four,' Peter added.  
  
'Me five,' Bella piped up.  
  
James elbowed me. I sighed.  
  
'Me six.'  
  
Everyone looked to Hilary.  
  
'I'm not hungry.'  
  
She was met by a room full of raised eyebrows.  
  
'What? I'm not! But I'm not stopping you guys.'  
  
'Who's going?' Sirius asked.  
  
'Bags not me,' Remus, Bella and Hilary said together. 'Bags not me,' Peter quickly added. James and Sirius looked at me. I shrugged.  
  
'One of you come too,' I asked Hilary and Bella. They both shook their heads.  
  
'We don't bite, Lily,' James teased.  
  
'I know,' I said dryly. 'But a girl's got to have back up. You know. Girl power!' I raised a fist to punch the air, the movement lacking enthusiasm.  
  
'If you don't want to go, me and Sirius will. I think only two of us will fit under the cloak, anyway.'  
  
'You can go with Lily. If Bella stays, I stay,' Sirius said sulkily. Bella laughed.  
  
'Aww, can't iddle widdle Sirius stay away from Bella?' she cooed. He put his arms around her and hugged her tight.  
  
'Back away! She's mine! Back away, and nobody gets hurt!'  
  
'Er, Sirius? Can you let me go? You're sort of choking me,' Bella wheezed.  
  
'Sorry,' Sirius said, releasing her.  
  
James shook his head and stood, offering me a hand to help me up. I declined, and got up of my own accord.  
  
'The cloak's in my trunk,' Hilary said before James could open his mouth. He gave me a mock glare before moving across the room to retrieve it. I walked towards the door, shoving James as I walked past.  
  
'Next time, you wake your sister.'  
  
'I will. You may not lash out like she does, but that mouth of yours is just as bad. She's also quick to cooperate so I'll leave her alone,' he said, throwing the cloak over us.  
  
'Really?' I asked absent mindedly, peering around the door. 'It's safe.'  
  
We walked down the stairs. Halfway, we were met by a mewing sound. Storm Shadow was blocking our way.  
  
'How can he see us?' James whispered.  
  
'He's smart. Sixth sense,' I whispered back. 'Move, Shadow.'  
  
Storm Shadow flicked his tail before moving aside. We continued down, my cat padding after us.  
  
'Does he have to come?' James whined as we slipped out of the Portrait Hole.  
  
'No. But he wants to. Besides, it's probably not a bad idea. He can warn us when people are coming.'  
  
'Whatever,' he sighed. 'Come on, it's this way.'  
  
How James could possibly remember the way to the kitchen and back again was beyond me, because I'd lost all sense of direction after about five minutes. Though, I supposed, he had been at Hogwarts longer than I had. We soon arrived at a portrait of a fruit bowl. James came to a stop.  
  
'What now?' I hissed.  
  
'We tickle the pear,' James laughed. Storm Shadow mewed and disappeared into the shadows. Probably until we came back. James looked around before pulling off the cloak, then indeed tickled the pear in the painting. The portrait swung open.  
  
'Come on.'  
  
I stepped in hesitantly, James following me. I could only manage one word.  
  
'Wow.'  
  
In the centre of the kitchen, which was bordered by benches and sinks and stoves and such, were four large tables identical to the house tables in the Great Hall.  
  
'The Great Hall is just above us,' James explained. 'They set out all the food, then magically swap the tables with the ones directly above them.'  
  
'Awesome.'  
  
When James said 'they', I figured he meant the house elves. The whole room was filled with them.  
  
'Arla!' I exclaimed. I recognised the apron I had double-folded for her. She looked up at me and gave a toothy smile.  
  
'Miss Lily! Arla has not seen you for many weeks! Did Miss Lily enjoy her holidays?'  
  
'I had a great time. What about you?'  
  
'Arla loves Christmas time. All the interesting food we can make!' she replied. 'Did Master James and Miss Lily want anything?' she asked suddenly.  
  
'Anything you've got to spare, arla, would be wonderful,' James smiled.  
  
'Of course!' Arla said, bowing. Six of the house elves immediately began scurrying around, organising a basket of food.  
  
'Where is Masters Sirius, Remus and Peter, Master James?' squeaked another elf.  
  
'They're back in Gryffindor Tower. We're going to take some food up to them.'  
  
'Ragin shall get Master Sirius some licorice!' it replied.  
  
'I'm sure he would love that, Ragin,' James laughed. 'He loves his licorice.'  
  
'Would you like some pumpkin juice?' Arla asked, holding a goblet up to me. I bent down and accepted it.  
  
'Thank you.'  
  
James took a glass from Ragin and we both drank them quickly.  
  
'Anything else, Miss Lily or Master James?'  
  
'No thank you. But thanks for what you've given us. You're very generous,' James said.  
  
'Yes, thanks. It looks good,' I added, looking down at the basket of goodies in my hands. The elves all bowed.  
  
'You're welcome,' they all chattered, giving toothy smiles. I couldn't help but smile back. They were so cute!  
  
James peered around the portrait hole.  
  
'It's clear. Come on,' he whispered, throwing the cloak over us. We stepped out, and closed the portrait quietly.  
  
'Shadow,' I called softly. I was answered by a quietly meow and he soon slinked into view.  
  
'Off we go,' I said, giving James a shove.  
  
We were just at the start of the corridor that led to Gryffindor Tower when Shadow stopped short, back arched and hairs raised. I grabbed James's arm.  
  
'Wait,' I whispered. We stood for a moment, and, soon enough, we heard footsteps. James pulled us back against the wall.  
  
'Come on, Mrs Norris. See if we can catch any students out of bed,' cackled a voice quietly.  
  
'Filch,' James groaned.  
  
Argus Filch was the school caretaker, and had been so for three years. This was his fourth. From what I had heard, throughout this period of time he had been hated by all students. The feeling seemed mutual, because he delighted in punishing students for the pettiest of crimes and confiscating items for fun. I had heard many stories about Filch. Most of them saying he had been expelled and wanted to seek revenge by annoying students. He was fairly young; about in his twenties, but looked like someone who had aged before their time. He had mangled and twisted black/grey hair and bloodshot eyes. Many a time had I been scared out of my wits when he had popped out of nowhere: he knew every single passage in the school.  
  
Mrs Norris was Filch's new cat. He had got her at the start of the year, which made her younger than Storm Shadow, I thought, who was now not quite a kitten but not quite a cat yet, either. Mrs Norris was just about the only living thing other than the teachers that went near Filch out of free will. Where he got the name Mrs Norris for that cat, though, I don't know.  
  
James and I both held our breaths as Filch approached, waiting for him to walk past. Then I had a horrible thought. If Storm Shadow could see us, could Mrs Norris? Filch stopped just before he reached us and had a look around. I sighed with relief when I saw that he had Mrs Norris in his arms. Better than her sneaking around in the shadows. 'Where are they, my pretty?' Mrs Norris's tail was flicking in spasms, while her lamp-like eyes slowly travelled around. James and I both stood as still as we could when her gaze moved over us. She stopped for a moment, looking directly at the place where we stood.  
  
Suddenly, Storm Shadow padded out of the dark corner he had been hiding in right into full view of Filch. Both the caretaker's and Mrs Norris's head snapped around.  
  
'What's a little kitty like you doing roaming the castle at night? I know you. You're Evan's cat, aren't you?'  
  
I watched in disbelief as Filch crouched down and scratched Shadow behind the ears. I guess he just had a soft spot for cats in general. They had obviously offered him better company than humans.  
  
After an agonising couple of minutes, Filch continued off down the corridor, Shadow slinking around his feet. James and I crossed our fingers and shared another sigh of relied when he walked past the turn to the portrait hole.  
  
'Traitor,' James muttered good-naturedly after Shadow.  
  
'He just saved your butt; cut him some slack,' I laughed, punching him gently.  
  
'Let's go,' James breathed, and we walked as quick as we could back to the portrait. We pulled off the cloak.  
  
'Draco Dormiens,' James puffed, still catching his breath. The Fat Lady eyed us disapprovingly.  
  
'What are you young Gryffindors doing up so late?' she clucked, but swung open anyway.  
  
We scrambled inside, then leaned our backs against the shut portrait, breathing heavy.  
  
'Well, there's our excitement for today,' I joked.  
  
'Yeah,' James laughed.  
  
We were just heading upstairs when the portrait swung open again. We both froze, but then laughed when Shadow slipped in.  
  
'You scared us,' I scolded good-naturedly, scratching him behind the ears. He purred in response.  
  
'Yes, you did good,' I praised. I reached into the basket and broke a corner of a muffin and gave it to him before continuing up the stairs after James.  
  
'What took you so long?' Sirius asked when we walked in. 'We were getting worried,' Bella added.  
  
'Oh, nothing much. We just got sidetracked in the kitchens, then almost got caught by Filch and that stupid cat of his,' James explained.  
  
'What?' Remus laughed.  
  
'Do tell,' added Hilary.  
  
So we told them our story while eating our way through the delicious selection of muffins, biscuits and cakes. Those house elves could cook!  
  
'Well,' Sirius said once James had finished explaining, his mouth full of food. 'Filch or no Filch, I think your excursion was very much worth it.'  
  
Everyone readily agreed.  
  
'So should we go to bed or what?' Peter asked once all the food was gone. Everyone stared at him.  
  
'Nah,' we all laughed together.  
  
'Well what then?' Remus asked. Everyone looked to Sirius who had stood and picked up a pillow.  
  
'Anyone for another pillow fight?'  
  
~*~AUTHOR'S NOTE~*~  
  
How's that for a quick chapter out? I was going to post it right after the last one but thought I'd wait a bit first. *cackles evilly* and it's my longest chapter, I think.  
  
I know that the last few chapters have pretty much been rambling about absolutely nothing and not much has progressed but the next chapter will be more plot-related, I promise.  
  
Well, here are my thank yous.  
  
Angelxd14: Thank you! It's not going anywhere!  
  
Maigon Jesolite : Thank you for all of your reviews. And I know what you mean about homework and exams. They suck!  
  
Stefanorkle: Here it is!  
  
Celine: No offense people with white teeth, but when people have teeth that are just SOO white it looks fake it just annoys me. Oh, and that story email i sent you? It's a weird thing I thought up. You don't have to do it if you don't want to. But you just reply to it. Like I think it asked 'can i trust u?' so you reply and say 'yes u can trust me' or whatever. Yeah, all true about the English teacher. It's all sorted now. We were sort of laying off on the homework anyway though, now. But it bought me more time. I've been learning Italian for seven years, and this is my eighth. I think it's a really great language and I'd love to go to Italy one day. I love their culture. Yes - I totally agree about James and Lily being too young. And yeah - everyone else does seem to disagree. But I can't possibly imagine how kids so young could even begin to understand love. And as for the scenarios where they meet like in first year and go out forever more - it's not realistic. We all go through lots of relationships before we settle down. It's unlikely they'd meet 'the one' at such a young age. Even when they do eventually get together in my story, it'll be a lot of arguments and a few break ups and get-back-togethers before they actually realise they love each other. Oh well. Thank you for your review!  
  
LadySiri: He-he. Mad dash: that's me! Well, not really. I'm an organisation and punctuality freak but hey. I know what it's like sometimes.  
  
The Elfin Child: *smacks Paige and Jessica also*  
  
Amelia Bedelia: OMG what a nice review. I started reading 'Light' after that, it's really good. I love Sirius too! Um, I'm planning to do their whole lives until their deaths, and I'm hoping not to skip any years. But I might. I would have absolutely no idea how many chapters. A lot. I might do separate postings for each year. I mean it's only been like six months and its like 12 chaps. Who knows how many there'll be for like fifteen years! It's definitely going to be a loooong story.  
  
Lily Hawk: I have readers from all over the world! How cool!  
  
Erin; OMG how sweet! Thank you!  
  
Candy: That's what i put the translations in for lol. By the wya if anyone italian out there is reading this - i know its not the best italian it's only my second language so I'm not that good! Have mercy! Well tell me about ur story when u post it.  
  
Squorpionlady: Yeah, I know. Updating does take awhile. Keep up ur story, its good.  
  
Kat: here it is!  
  
Kewpie: OMG someone laughed! Lol. Nevermind me, everyone's always telling me I'm not funny. Deep down, I know they all find me hilarious.  
  
Clearbrook: Thank you for always seeming to like all of my chapters!  
  
Well, that's everyone, I think. If not, I'm sure I mentioned you in Jessica's little ramble in the last chapter. Oh yeah except for fanficfan. Thank you fanficfan! I didn't forget you! Lols. Bye byes, everyone!  
  
SezZie 


	14. I Hate Caterpillars Butterflies I Love

~*~ I Hate Caterpillars Butterflies I Love ~*~  
~Caterpillars I hate  
  
~This boring life of green  
  
~Is like my own  
  
~Like living out on a limb  
  
~Or leaf  
  
~I feel so alone  
  
~Because I hate caterpillars  
  
~Butterflies I love  
  
~Strange idea inside my head  
  
~Inside  
  
~My safety cocoon  
  
~I'll be a butterfly soon  
  
~Then out comes the sunshine  
  
~Dries out my paper wings  
  
~Soon they'll spread  
  
~And I'll leave it all behind  
  
~Fly away from  
  
~The life I dread  
  
~Because I hate caterpillars  
  
~Butterflies I love  
  
~Strange idea inside my head  
  
~Inside  
  
~My safety cocoon  
  
~I'll be a butterfly soon  
  
~Finding it easier  
  
~To be a caterpillar  
  
~Easier to belong  
  
~Now I know that  
  
~Caterpillar can't  
  
~Stay like that for long  
  
Have you ever felt like there's a part of you missing, but you can't quite tell what it is? That's how I felt Saturday morning.  
  
It was about a month after Christmas. Everything had been going smoothly: lessons were fun, my grades were good, I was having fun with my friends, Malfoy had left me alone. I was happy. But then something happened that Saturday that made it all disappear.  
  
I woke up.  
  
I'd gone to sleep without a care in the world, but suddenly, I'd woken up with the world on my shoulders. It was a strange feeling I couldn't quite explain. I felt caged in, suppressed. And I didn't like it.  
  
'What's wrong, Lily?' asked Bella, flopping down on my bed.  
  
'Arabella Figg, I just made that bed!'  
  
She rolled her eyes.  
  
'Neat freak,' she muttered. 'Now tell me what's wrong.'  
  
'Nothing,' I said softly, smoothing out the bed.  
  
'Something is bothering you, Lily Evans! Fess up!'  
  
I felt a strange flip in my stomach then. That's exactly what Joey would have said. In the end I gave in and flopped down on the bed.  
  
'Now who's messing up the bed?' scoffed Bella as I successfully crinkled my sheets.  
  
'I can't explain it. I just feel... dark.'  
  
'Oh my god, you're going to become a death eater, aren't you?' she gasped mockingly. 'What's a Death Eater?' I asked curiously.  
  
'Voldemort's followers. Supporters of the Dark Arts,' she shrugged.  
  
'Oh,' I said. 'Nope. Not that kind of dark.'  
  
'I should hope so!' Bella said firmly. 'But what is it then?'  
  
'I'm not sure,' I sighed, rolling onto my back and staring at the ceiling.  
  
'Well, whatever it is, I think it calls for a vegge-out and make-over session!'  
  
At that moment, Hilary walked out of the bathroom in her trademark outfit: T-shirt, undies, facial mask and her hair up in a towel.  
  
'What's going down, girls? Did someone mention a make-over?' she asked, flopping down next to Bella.  
  
'Geez, what is this? Slumber party in Lily's bed?' I joked.  
  
'Sounds great to me,' said James, walking in with a grin. I flipped back onto my stomach to look at him.  
  
'You've really got to stop doing that.'  
  
'Doing what?' he laughed.  
  
'Walking into our dormitory at specific moments when someone usually asks a question and you come up with some smart arse answer.'  
  
'Oh.'  
  
'He really has to stop coming into our dormitory altogether,' Hilary added.  
  
'What do you want?' Bella asked, cocking her head to the side.  
  
'Well, it's a Hogsmeade weekend...' James began.  
  
'Yeah?'  
  
'And Sirius wants to know if Bella would like to go with him.'  
  
'Getting you to do his dirty work, is he?'  
  
'As always,' James replied.  
  
'Wait a second, back up - Hogsmeade is for third years and up,' I pointed out.  
  
'You're forgetting one tiny weeny thing,' James said in a sing-song voice.  
  
'The cloak,' Hilary said slowly. 'But you mean to say that you're wasting your cloak on the Hogsmeade weekend on two lovesick puppies when you could be taking me?'  
  
'Sorry sis,' he grinned. 'I just happen to be the bestest best friend in the world. So what's it to be, Miss Figg?'  
  
'You can tell Sirius,' Bella said slowly, glancing at me, 'that I'm sorry, but I have an urgent matter to attend to.'  
  
'Oh, Bella, no. Go with Sirius...' I began, but she held up her hand.  
  
'Friends come first,' she insisted. 'You can tell Sirius maybe some other time.'  
  
James gave a bow.  
  
'Your wish is my command. Have fun ladies - you know who to call if you get lonely,' he said with a wink, before walking out and closing the door after him.  
  
'Bella, you should have gone,' I sighed. 'I'm fine.'  
  
'No you're not,' Hilary said, searching my eyes. 'Something's bothering you.'  
  
'Where's Toni and Kelsey and Reilly?' Bella asked.  
  
'Note on the door,' I said distractedly, turning back to Hilary.  
  
'And how the hell would you know if something's wrong with me?' I challenged.  
  
'You have very emotional eyes,' Bella answered before Hilary could. 'You can find out a lot about what mood you're in by looking into your eyes.'  
  
'Well, I can tell a lot about you by what you eat,' I told Bella. 'When you're bored, you indulge. When you're happy, you eat light. And when you're not happy, you don't eat at all.'  
  
'Lily! You should become a psychologist!' Bella gasped mockingly.  
  
'Lil, honey, everybody eats like that when they're in those moods,' Hilary said with fake sympathy.  
  
'I know,' I laughed.  
  
'Well, except Paige,' Hilary added as an afterthought. 'When she's upset, she eats a lot and throws it up. When she's happy she'll just pretend to eat, but when she's really happy, she doesn't bother eating at all.'  
  
We all laughed.  
  
'She's not that skinny,' I commented though. 'She wouldn't be anorexic or bulimic or anything.'  
  
'Oh, she's got to have some flesh on her. Guys don't go for anorexic bitches,' Hilary said with disgust.  
  
'Yeah,' Bella agreed distractedly. She was staring at the floor as if she could see through it.  
  
'So what was this make over you passed up Hogsmeade for about?' Hilary asked.  
  
'Yeah - Lily needs a cheer-me-up session.'  
  
'Ooh! I'm getting the food,' Hilary said, jumping up. 'In exchange for a make-over, of course,' she added. Bella gave in.  
  
'Alright, but Lily's first priority. We need to get what-ever-it-is-she's- not-telling-us off her mind,' she grinned.  
  
'Deal,' Hilary said, out the door in the flash. I looked over at Bella.  
  
'Bathroom!' she commanded, and frogmarched me out of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
Half an hour later I was covered in avocado paste, my hair was up in a towel and Bella was painting my toes while I pigged out on some potato chips. I felt like Hilary, honestly. This was her scene, not mine.  
  
'What would you say, Hil? Green, or black?' Bella asked, holding up two bottles of nail varnish. I wriggled my toes in their separators.  
  
'Red!' I volunteered.  
  
'Shut up, your face will crack,' Hilary said with a look. 'It's bad luck to crack a facial. Anyways, you have red hair so red nail polish would clash. You need something different. Black compliments her hair.'  
  
'But look how the green brings out her eyes,' Bella pointed out.  
  
'They're both gross colours,' I protested. 'Red is fine.'  
  
I was silenced with another look from Hilary.  
  
'Hate to break it to you, honey, but we're experienced in this thing.'  
  
'You'll look great when we're finished,' Bella insisted. 'Trust me.'  
  
Hilary succeeded in shutting me up by shoving some chips in my mouth. I scowled and began chewing them while Bella began painting my toes metallic emerald.  
  
'Do you have a spare brush?' Hilary asked.  
  
'Nah - start on her wardrobe.'  
  
'OK!'  
  
'What is the point of this, guys? We aren't going anywhere,' I commented.  
  
'It's a girl's prerogative to beautify herself with no apparent reason,' Bella laughed.  
  
'And it's a girl's prerogative to change her mind,' Hilary added, deciding against the purple sweater she had placed on my bed for me to wear.  
  
'Purple was last season,' she muttered.  
  
I rolled my eyes. 'Hilary, you're eleven years old. By law, you shouldn't be this into clothes and make-up until you're at least thirteen,' I laughed.  
  
'Is that a fact? Oh yeah, it's also a girl's prerogative to run away from a ball...' she said absent-mindedly, giving up on my range of clothes and resorting to raiding her own trunk.  
  
'That green camisole of yours would look great on her, Bella, but it wouldn't fit...'  
  
'Yeah, I'm to fat,' I laughed.  
  
'Nope, I'm just tiny,' Bella grinned.  
  
'So Lily, we're making you over, now you have to spill what's bothering you.'  
  
'I don't really know,' I admitted. 'I just have this gloomy feeling. Like everything's about to come crashing down.'  
  
Bella and Hilary raised their gazes to meet each other's eyes. I looked form one to the other.  
  
'What?'  
  
They quickly looked back down at what they were doing.  
  
'OK - new topic - we'll play a word game. I'll say a word, and you say the first thing that comes into your mind when I say that word, OK?' Hilary asked.  
  
'OK.'  
  
'Bella.'  
  
'Nice.'  
  
'Hilary.'  
  
'Sarcastic.'  
  
'James.'  
  
'Funny.'  
  
'Sirius.'  
  
'Hyper.'  
  
'Remus.'  
  
'Calm.'  
  
'Peter.'  
  
'Pipsqueak,' I giggled. Bella and Hilary snorted.  
  
'Dog.' 'Playful.'  
  
'Cat.'  
  
'Fluffy.'  
  
'Lily.'  
  
'Flower.'  
  
'OK, enough of that,' Bella grinned. 'Boring.' She'd finished on my toes and had moved to my fingers. 'Let's play something else.'  
  
'Like?'  
  
'Truth or dare, but without the dares,' I suggested.  
  
'Truth,' Hilary said.  
  
'Yeah.'  
  
'OK then,' Bella agreed. 'Who'll go first?'  
  
'You can,' I said, grinning. 'And I'm asking.'  
  
'Just wait!' Hilary said. 'We should cast truth spells so we can't lie.'  
  
'Do you know a truth spell?' Bella asked doubtfully. 'I thought that veriteseum potion or whatever it is was the only one.'  
  
'There's truth spells, they're just weak,' I said. 'Veritaserum is almost impossible to defy.' 'Well, what's a truth spell then?'  
  
'Verosia,' I answered. Bella and Hilary exchanged glances.  
  
'You cast it, Lily.'  
  
I sighed and awkwardly pulled out my wand, carefully so as not to scratch my nails. I pressed my wand tip to Hilary's forehead.  
  
'Verosia.'  
  
I repeated the action on Bella.  
  
'One of you guys will have to do it to me.'  
  
'OK. I will,' Bella said, taking out her own wand. She held it a fraction away from my forehead so it wasn't touching the paste smeared over my face. 'It's verosia, isn't it?'  
  
'Yep.'  
  
'OK, here goes. Verosia.'  
  
'Right, I'm asking Bella!' I said, grinning. 'Who was your first kiss?'  
  
'Daniel Mantel, fourth grade,' she replied.  
  
'Care to elaborate?' Hilary teased. 'Were you going out?'  
  
'Yeah, but not with him. And the guy I was going out with was my first 'boyfriend', if that's what you can call it with fourth graders.'  
  
'Oh my god,' I laughed. 'I would never cheat on anybody.'  
  
'How do you know?' Hilary asked.  
  
'She has to be telling the truth because of that spell,' Bella pointed out.  
  
'Wow,' Hilary said. 'That's awesome to know, huh, Lils?'  
  
'I guess.'  
  
'Well, I'm asking you a question,' she continued evilly. 'Do you have a crush on James?'  
  
'No,' I answered truthfully.  
  
'Damn,' she said with a laugh. 'But it would really work between you two, I reckon. You hit it off heaps quick, and there's sparks flying when you two are in the same room.'  
  
'We just clicked straight away,' I shrugged. 'Good vibes.'  
  
'So what do you think of James?' Bella asked.  
  
'Ten adjectives,' Hilary added, getting ready to count on her fingers.  
  
'OK. Um, funny, loyal, easy-going, um, hot,' I said, grinning. 'Charismatic, hyper, smart, witty, smooth, and... assertive.'  
  
'Ooh, cracking out the big words, are we?' Bella teased.  
  
'Someone ask me a question,' Hilary demanded.  
  
'Me!' Bella said quickly. 'My turn. Umm... who do you have a crush on?'  
  
Hilary narrowed her eyes.  
  
'That's just mean,' she whined.  
  
'Fess up,' Bella commanded.  
  
By now the whole make over thing had been abandoned and we were all just lounging around on my bed and the floor.  
  
Hilary mumbled something incoherent.  
  
'What was that, Hils? Didn't quite hear it,' I smirked.  
  
'Amos Diggory,' she said quietly.  
  
Bella and I exchanged glances before we burst out laughing.  
  
'You're joking.'  
  
'No!' she said defensively. 'He's hot.'  
  
'I guess,' I said, thinking about it. 'But he's about as far up himself as he can get.'  
  
'People say that about me and James,' Hilary argued.  
  
'Your point?' Bella laughed.  
  
'Yeah - because you are,' I teased.  
  
'Aw, don't worry, Hil. We all wuv woo,' Bella cooed, squishing Hilary into a hug.  
  
I grinned at looked at my watch.  
  
'Listen, guys,' I said, my gaze going to the window, 'I'm just going to go for a walk, OK?'  
  
They both exchanged glances and said nothing. I knew they were mentally debating over whether to come with me. I sat up and pulled the toe separators out and tossed them on the bed, pulling on some socks and sneakers.  
  
'I just need some 'me' time, OK?' Seeing their looks, I added, 'I had fun doing this, thanks. We have to do it again sometime. I'll see you in half an hour or so, alright?'  
  
'Bye,' Bella said, opening her arms for a hug. I gave her one, then hugged Hilary as well.  
  
'Toodles,' I called, walking out the door.  
  
It was cool outside. The snow had melted a couple of weeks or so ago, and there was the odd puddle of mush scattered over the grounds. I buried my hands in my pockets as a great wave of uneasiness swept over me again. I sighed. I just couldn't shake it off.  
  
Steering away from the usual flow of students, I walked in the opposite direction of the lake. Someone was standing on the slope of the hill, fumbling with some items. I recognised him as the rather large man from our first day. I stopped to help him pick up the variety of things he had dropped. He gave me a kindly smile.  
  
'Hullo there. Thanks for that. Yer a first year, aren't yeh?'  
  
I nodded.  
  
'I'm Rubeus 'Agrid. Everyone calls me 'Agrid. Pleased to meet yeh.'  
  
'Lily Evans,' I replied, smiling.  
  
'Yer got time for a cup o' tea?' he asked, scratching his head. 'I don't get visitors very often.'  
  
'Of course,' I said, taking an immediate liking to this Hagrid. I especially loved his roguish accent. 'Are you a teacher?'  
  
'Nah,' he chuckled. 'Game keeper. I'd like ter teach, though.'  
  
I walked with him up to his hut.  
  
'It's not much, but I fancy it more than up at the castle,' he said, standing in the middle of the one-roomed house and looking around.  
  
'I love it,' I said, looking around with awe. Hagrid beamed.  
  
'Would yeh like some tea?'  
  
'Yes please,' I replied, sitting down at the table as he filled the kettle.  
  
'Do you have any animals at all?' I asked.  
  
'O'course!' he said. 'I've got a small little pup named Fang, and he's just new, as a matter of fact. He's probably sleepin' under the bed or summat.'  
  
I stood and walked over to Hagrid's bed and went on my knees, putting the side of my head to the floor to peer under. A small boarhound was curled up underneath.  
  
'He's so cute,' I laughed. 'Though I suppose he'd have a field day with Shadow.'  
  
'Shadow?' Hagrid asked, setting a teapot and two cups on the table. I went back over to sit with him.  
  
'My cat, Storm Shadow.'  
  
'Eh. Never been a cat person m'self, that's Filch's kind o'thing. Got nothin' against them, mind. What I've always wanted is a dragon.'  
  
'A dragon?' I said with wonder. From what I'd read about dragons, they definitely weren't ideal pets.  
  
'A dragon,' Hagrid confirmed, his eyes going dreamy.  
  
'Sirius would probably like a dragon, too,' I laughed, mostly to myself.  
  
'Sirius Black? Oh, barrel of laughs, he is. Him and James Potter. They're quite the double act,' he chuckled.  
  
'You know James and Sirius?' I asked.  
  
'Oh yes. Lost count of the detentions they've had with me,' he said, shaking his head.  
  
'They're good ones, though. No one ever died from a laugh, and there's rotten ones out there worse than them two.'  
  
For a moment, my thoughts drifted to Malfoy, but I ignored them. The numbness in my stomach that had appeared that morning was slowly fading. Hagrid picked up a tin and pulled the lid off.  
  
'Rock cake?' he offered. I accepted one, and bit into it. I almost broke my teeth. I gave a slight forwn before nibbling on the cake instead, which was much more efficient.  
  
'Did you go to Hogwarts, Hagrid?'  
  
Hagrid's eyes flickered to the side, and he seemed to side-step the topic.  
  
'Yeh, a while ago. Not much ter tell, really.'  
  
I didn't ask about it again.  
  
I had a great time chatting to him for the rest of the afternoon, before I looked at my watch and realised I'd been away for two hours. About an hour and a half longer than I said I'd be. I thanked Hagrid, telling him that of course I'd come and visit him again. And before I knew it, I was back outside in the cool air, traipsing up to the castle.  
  
It was late, and I didn't think anyone else was out. But about halfway, I stopped in my tracks and groaned. Malfoy was leaning against a tree, smoking a cigarette. I lowered my head and tried to walk as far around him as I could so as not to be noticed. No such luck.  
  
'Hey, Evans.'  
  
I didn't turn, but kept walking, speeding up.  
  
'Expelliarmus!' The force of the spell hit me in the back and I tripped, falling to the ground. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as Malfoy slowly walked up.  
  
'That wasn't very good manners, Evans. Walking by without saying hello.'  
  
'Leave me alone, Malfoy,' I warned.  
  
He took another puff on his cigarette before dropping it and pressing it into the ground with his foot.  
  
'Or what?' he asked. My hand closed around my wand in my pocket. I knew I could get in serious trouble for using magic against another student, but it was for self defense. He kept approaching, and I backed away, but he was quicker. He shoved me to the ground. My hand flew out, wand pointing at him.  
  
'Back off,' I said.  
  
'I'm so scared,' he said mockingly. That was it. He had asked for it. I said the first spell that came to my head.  
  
'Tarantatem!'  
  
Malfoy doubled over as his legs began moving about uncontrollably. A hand on his stomach to steady himself, he raised his own wand, legs still moving.  
  
'Stupefy!' he shot back.  
  
I was stunned, unable to move properly. The spell I had cast on him wearing off, he smirked with satisfaction.  
  
'Reducto!' The force of it hit me full on in the stomach, and I was knocked to the ground a second time. He aimed for me again, and I regained movement in my limbs just in time to roll out of the way.  
  
'Expelliarmus!' His wand shot out of his hand and I caught it, scrambling to my feet and backing away.  
  
'Protrificus Totalus!' I breathed before he could cast another spell. He stopped, rooted to the spot. I waited as I caught my breath, staring determinedly back into his icy glare.  
  
Straightening, I threw his wand at his feet.  
  
'You can't get rid of me, Malfoy. I'm going to fight back.'  
  
And with that, I continued on my way back up to the castle, proud that I had finally given Malfoy a piece of my mind without James or Sirius coming to save the day.  
~*~ AUTHOR'S NOTE ~*~  
  
You'll have to excuse me for taking awhile, I've had it finished I just haven't been on the net to upload.  
  
*sobs*  
  
OK guys, you'll have to ignore me, but I'm a little emotional. I just finished writing the last two chapters of this story, and they're very sad. Don't worry - I'm nowhere near finishing this - I just had a major brainwave and wrote them out - and they made me sad :'( After this story (which is a long way away), in case you were wondering, I'm doing a sort of sequel, which will contain eight chapters, all in a different POV:  
  
The World Through The Eyes Of The Guy Who Started It All: Voldemort's Story  
  
The World Through The Eyes Of A Muggle Born: The Life of Lily Evans  
  
The World Through The Eyes Of A Pure Blood: The Inner Workings of James Potter  
  
The World Through The Eyes Of Someone Not-So-Serious: Sirius's Tale  
  
The World Through The Eyes Of A Werewolf: An Account of Remus Lupin  
  
The World Through The Eyes Of Someone Completely Different: The Diary Of A Seer  
  
The World Through The Eyes Of A Married Couple: Trouble In Paradise  
  
The World Through The Eyes Of A Traitor: The Riddle of The Rat.  
  
It'll be way shorter than this one will be, but it will still be pretty long. And I'm still planning to do a full-length The World Through The Eyes Of A Pure Blood which will be James's Life story, and The World Through The Eyes Of The Boy Who Lived, which will be about Harry in case you didn't guess.  
  
Umm, don't have time for thank yous, but I accidentally didn't post these two from last time, so I'll slip them in and thank the rest of you later, OK?  
  
Here we go:  
  
Amelia Bedelia: Whole James/Paige/Jessica problem soon to become James/Paige/Tara/Lily problem. Yes, that's right. Bye bye to Jessica. But we will see some of her brother. Who will happen to just sort of ask Lily out...  
  
Crystal: Me update soon; me good. Little voices never wrong. Me understand you. Ignore others. They're just jealous that little voices talk to US. Hehe. Me do good so me get powerful title. Me think supreme queen of the universe sound very favourable. Hehe. Me also know that Argus Filch squib. Terrible one at that. What Lily say just rumours about him go to school. Him no go to school. And Mrs Norris just very well aged cat. Ssh. No tell no one. Between you, the voices, and me. Hehe. Me stop talking like this now. MY SUGAR JAR!  
  
This chapter's probably my worst, by the way. I don't like. Well, bye byes for now. I gotta fly.  
  
Toodles!  
  
Lotz-a-luv,  
  
SezZie 


	15. Dating The Enemy

~*~ Dating The Enemy ~*~  
~You gotta understand  
  
~Right from the start  
  
~From this point on  
~I don't love you  
  
~I can't love you  
  
~That's just how it is  
~You and me  
  
~Naturally  
  
~Dating the enemy  
So I'd shaken the feeling, but I kept thinking about it. I couldn't explain it - even now it had gone. What had it meant? The fact that I couldn't stop thinking about it worried me that maybe it had never really gone. Maybe something was wrong.  
  
I didn't have to ponder the thought for long, though, because my quiet time I was spending up in the dorm studying was interrupted when Hilary stormed in.  
  
'I cannot believe her!' she said shrilly. 'After everything, she still goes crawling back to him, and then... poof! Back to square one!'  
  
'What?' I asked.  
  
'Paige! She's back with James. Don't ask me how she did it, but she's back with him.'  
  
I blinked.  
  
'So?'  
  
'So? So? Lily, this is Paige we are talking about! She's a grade A bitch! Didn't you hear how James was talking about her? He doesn't like her, yet he's back with her. Unless dad's got something to do with it, it doesn't make sense.'  
  
'Or maybe James is just being a regular guy,' I said practically, though I knew it sounded harsh. James didn't seem like that kind of person. Hilary stared at me.  
  
'But he hates her. It doesn't fit. And I actually think it has nothing to do with dad. Lily, you've got to come see.'  
  
Sighing, I put my books to one side and removed my reading glasses, getting up and following Hilary downstairs. Just before we reached the bottom, she told me to stop.  
  
'Look,' she said, pointing. I looked where her finger was and raised an eyebrow.  
  
James was sitting on the couch, and Paige was sitting next to him, head on his shoulder as they spoke to April.  
  
'Something's up,' I said immediately.  
  
'That's what I mean. It's not right,' Hilary replied. 'She's done something.'  
  
I nodded my head.  
  
'Does Sirius or Remus know about this?'  
  
'Know about what?' demanded Sirius Black from the first year dormitories landing. Hilary gestured at James and Paige over her shoulder.  
  
'Them two being back together.'  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes.  
  
'Do I ever. James doesn't shut up about her. I don't get it. He hated her.'  
  
'Yeah, we know. Something's not right.'  
  
'Do you guys know anything else about Paige? I mean, for all we know, she could be part Veela or something,' I said, shrugging. Sirius scratched his head.  
  
'You can take a look at her file,' he offered.  
  
'You have a file on Paige?' I asked. Hilary laughed.  
  
'They keep a file on every girl they date,' she explained. 'Don't ask me why.'  
  
'For references in times like these,' Sirius said indignantly. 'So do you want to take a look?'  
  
'It could be interesting,' I said with a laugh.  
  
Up in the boys dorm, which, might I add, was a horrible mess, Sirius began scrounging around for something. He soon pulled out a manilla folder that was rather full of papers. How he managed to find anything in that dump, though, I did not know.  
  
We all sat down on his bed. I peered over his shoulder as he flicked through the documents. They were all pages upon pages of notes in the boys's handwriting, accompanied by pictures.  
  
'Paige, Paige, Paige... ah, here we go. Paige.'  
  
What Sirius pulled out appeared to be the biggest section. It seemed that James had found out a lot about her. Sirius offered the pile to me. I put on my glasses.  
  
'Paige Appleton. Hair colour: blonde dyed red, ringlets. Aha!' I exclaimed. 'Red's not her natural hair colour!'  
  
Hilary opened her mouth in shock and Sirius eyed us.  
  
'It's a girl thing,' Hilary explained. Sirius responded with a simple 'oh' and a raised eyebrow. 'Eye colour: brown. Body build: medium. Height: tall. Other features: cute pout. Nice ass?' I asked, looking at Sirius. 'You look at her ass?'  
  
'It's a guy thing,' he teased with a laugh. I rolled my eyes and continued on.  
  
'Info: Minister's daughter. Bitchy, materialistic, stubborn. Sexy attitude. You guys are pretty pathetic. Knows Brigette, April and Juliet. Has dated Lucius Malfoy? What the hell?' I asked. Sirius shrugged.  
  
'So she has bad taste,' he said. 'But who cares when she's that hot?'  
  
I scanned over the remaining information, but found nothing important.  
  
'How do you guys find this stuff out?' I asked, handing the papers back to Sirius, with a last glance at the moving picture of Paige that lay on top.  
  
She was wearing her hair mostly up, with a few loose strands hanging down. Her hair was a more vibrant red than it was now, and she was wearing a white tube top with a lacy, see-through white gauze top over it. She was flirtatiously twirling a coil of red around her index finger. No matter how much I despised her, I had to admit she looked rather attractive, and I could understand why James may have decided to get back with her. But it just didn't seem right, especially after how he'd spoken about her. From what he'd said around me, he thought she was okay, but definitely wasn't for him.  
  
'Something's not right,' I sighed for about the fiftieth time.  
  
'And there's absolutely nothing in those papers?' Hilary asked doubtfully. 'Surely there's something.'  
  
'Nope,' I said, scanning over them. 'Not unless we had something else to go on.'  
  
We both looked at Sirius. He shrugged.  
  
'I'll keep an eye out. But apart from him going back out with Paige, I haven't noticed anything.'  
  
'Are you guys coming to our flying lesson tomorrow?'  
  
At Bella's request, Signora Gionva had invited Sirius and James to our mini broomstick graduation. It was quite sad, really, but kind of cute. She really was a sweet teacher. Normally we would have thought that sort of idea pretty childish, but it was different with Signora Gionva. It just seemed more... fun. 'What do you think?' Sirius laughed. 'Well, I don't know about James. But I'm definitely coming.'  
  
'James will come,' Hilary said. 'He wouldn't miss it for the world.'  
  
'Yeah,' Sirius sighed. 'But would he miss it for Paige?'  
  
* * *  
  
As we left, Hilary went up to our dorm while I went down to the common room. I met James on the stairs.  
  
'Hi,' I said, smiling. He gave a small smile, not his usual grin.  
  
'Hi, Lily.'  
  
I looked into his eyes in the fleeting second that his gaze held mine. His usually piercingly blue eyes were foggy and dull.  
  
'See you later,' he said, giving a wave and continuing upstairs.  
  
'Weird,' I muttered to myself as I made my way down.  
  
* * *  
  
Monday morning, Hilary was surprisingly the first awake. She immediately set about waking myself and Bella, and we were all dressed and ready before seven thirty, which had to be a record.  
  
Hilary had also made it her business to inform Bella of the situation with Paige and James.  
  
'What's wrong with James going out with Paige?' she asked, confused.  
  
'Bella, there's nothing wrong about it, except for the fact that James hates her guts,' Hilary said plainly.  
  
'We think something's up,' I explained.  
  
'Yeah, well. James is a guy, and a popular one at that. What's to stop him dating an incredibly hot chick? I mean, you don't have to be in love with someone to date them. And let's face it, guys will be guys when it comes to girls,' Bella replied nonchalantly.  
  
'But Bella, don't you see? James dumped her. He hates her guts. And you know James, he's a friendly guy. He steers clear of people he doesn't like, Paige included. Why does he suddenly seem head over heels for her?'  
  
'Tara,' Hilary murmured. 'James has a crush on Tara. That was one of the reasons he dumped Paige.'  
  
'It is odd, I suppose,' Bella agreed. 'He did seem to like Tara a lot.'  
  
'Are he and Tara friends?' I asked suddenly.  
  
'Yeah, sort of. Not best friends, but yeah,' Hilary replied. 'Why?'  
  
'At the Sorting last term, I was speaking to James. He said Tara hated it that he was going out with Paige, almost as much as he did.'  
  
'You don't think he's doing it to make her jealous?' Bella asked, packing some parchment into her bag.  
  
'He could be, but it doesn't seem like him,' Hilary said slowly.  
  
'No, it doesn't. But what if there was something else to it?'  
  
'What do you mean, Lily?' Bella asked.  
  
'I mean, what if there were several reasons behind it? James hates Nick, right?'  
  
'Yeah. With a passion,' Hilary agreed.  
  
'Well, Tara dates him, right? And Tara hates Paige...'  
  
'You mean kind of like revenge? It still doesn't seem like James,' Bella pointed out.  
  
'No, but there's more. What if James never hated Paige?' I asked. It was a gamble, but it was a possibility.  
  
'But he did,' Hilary frowned as we stood to make our way down to the Great Hall.  
  
'He acted like he did. What if he gave up Paige entirely for Tara? But Tara stayed with Nick, so he got back together with Paige. It would spare him the trouble with your dad, too.' 'It sounds plausible,' Bella said.  
  
'Yeah, but it still doesn't seem like the sort of thing James would do.'  
  
'People do things we don't expect them to all the time, especially when it comes to the opposite sex. We can have a crush on the biggest idiot, yet we're blinded of his attitude. All we see is what we want to see. James AND Sirius both do things we don't expect, all the time,' Bella pointed out. Hilary shrugged as we sat down at the table.  
  
I looked up to the head of our table to where James was seated next to Paige and Sirius, opposite Remus and Peter. He was looking in my direction and our eyes met. He gave a smile, but then frowned thoughtfully. Paige was talking to him, and didn't seem to like the fact he was looking elsewhere. She tapped his arm and followed his gaze. He eyes locked mine and narrowed slightly before turning back to James. He cast another look at me before giving her his full attention. I turned back to Hilary and Bella.  
  
'Look,' I said, gesturing with a tilt of my head. They both looked.  
  
It wasn't odd for James to be sitting up there; he often did. In fact, it was only on the odd occasion us three girls and the boys sat together. It was more common for them to be found sitting with their second year friends.  
  
'He's distracted,' Bella murmured. 'She's talking to him, but he keeps looking away.'  
  
I nodded and looked back over. This time, Sirius caught my eye. I saw him rise from the table and say something to James, who nodded, before coming over.  
  
'Something's definitely up. You see him now? Yesterday, he couldn't take his eyes off her. He hung on every single word. Now? He's off with the faeries,' he frowned, taking a seat opposite us.  
  
'Is he coming today?'  
  
'Yeah, if he remembers,' Sirius dryly, casting a glance at his best friend.  
  
'What do you mean?' Hilary asked curiously.  
  
'Well, I asked him about it, and he acted like he'd never heard of it. I finally convinced him to come, but he swears he didn't know anything about it.'  
  
'Odd,' I murmured.  
  
'Yeah. So now we know something's up: what is it?'  
  
And it was a question none of us could really answer.  
  
* * * 'Buongiorno, signors and signorinas. How are we all this morning?' Signora Gionva called as she waddled towards us.  
  
'Good,' we all echoed, rolling our eyes good-naturedly, huddling in a bunch to keep warm from the cool wind.  
  
'Before we start, I'd like you all to say buongiorno to our lovely Signors Black and Potter.'  
  
'Buongiorno,' we chorused. Sirius grinned and James stood, unswayed, in a lazy stance.  
  
'Ciao,' Sirius replied, still grinning from ear to ear. James gave a smile and a wave.  
  
After our first lesson, our flying sessions had been combined with the Hufflepuffs. At that moment, all four of them swooned. Hilary, Bella and I all rolled our eyes.  
  
'Oggi [today], bellos and bellas [beautiful boys and beautiful girls], we will move to one of the empty greenhouses. We will not be flying today, so there is no need for you to be out in the cold.'  
  
We all gave quiet cheers and followed her up the hill to greenhouse seven, which everyone knew was empty but nobody had been inside.  
  
'You know what I've heard?' Sirius said in a low, spooky voice. 'I've heard that there's a monster in greenhouse seven. A big, blood thirsty monster, that grabs little first years and TICKLES THEM TO DEATH!' he yelled, grabbing Bella's sides and tickling her.  
  
'ARRGH!!!' she squealed, surprised by the ambush. We all laughed. Hilary and I looked over at James. He was walking behind everyone else, hands in pockets. He appeared to be deep in thought. 'Should I go talk to him?' I whispered to Hilary.  
  
'You can try,' she said. 'Good luck.'  
  
I dropped back and fell into step beside James. He raised his head.  
  
'Hey,' he grinned, rustling up my hair with a hand. Now that was more like the James I knew.  
  
'What's bothering you?' I asked, narrowing my eyes and locking his gaze.  
  
'Nothing,' he said. His eyes were back to their normal stunning sapphire colour, which pleased me. I loved looking into James's eyes, they were so warm and friendly.  
  
'James Potter, I can tell something is bothering you. Fess up!' I said, persisting. He sighed.  
  
'I don't really know. I feel so out of it lately. I'm forgetting things, I'm having mixed emotions. I don't know. I think I might be coming down sick,' he shrugged. 'I missed out on the flu when everyone else had it; maybe it's catching up with me.'  
  
'Maybe,' I laughed.  
  
He raised his elbow and rested his arm on my head. I laughed and ducked out from underneath it.  
  
'Hey!'  
  
'What? You're exactly the right height,' he grinned.  
  
I raised my arm in a similar manner but only managed to reach his shoulder. He laughed.  
  
'Nope. I'm too tall for you.'  
  
I smiled as we entered the greenhouse. It seemed like James was back to normal. For now, at least.  
  
'Cool,' he said, looking around. 'I've never been in here before.'  
  
Suddenly, he grabbed me under the arms and swung me around.  
  
'Aaaaaaah!' I screamed, laughing at the same time. 'Put me down!'  
  
He smirked and set me down.  
  
'Bet you can't catch me.'  
  
'Bet I can,' I retorted. I had been good at the sprints in school. James took off, and I shot off after him. I tagged him in about thirty seconds.  
  
'Ooh. I've found some competition,' he said, narrowing his eyes evilly as Signora Gionva called us around a table. For the first time, I noticed that it was set out with cakes and drinks and such. It looked like the house elves had been busy.  
  
Signora Gionva rattled on a little about how good our flying had been, and that we should be proud of our skills. Then she made a thank you to James and Sirius, declared us flying graduates, and let us eat cake.  
  
It really was nice cake. * * *  
  
I'd walked to our next lesson happy that James seemed to have returned to normal, and expecting to hear he had broken up with Paige at lunch. But when I got to the Great Hall - late, thanks to Professor McGonagall - there he was, sitting next to her, listening intently as she told a story. It was like he was a completely different person.  
  
'He was fine during the graduation,' I said disbelievingly to Bella as I sat down next to her.  
  
She nodded.  
  
'I know. I saw him with you. I don't get it.'  
  
'It's really bugging me, too,' Hilary said with frustration.  
  
'Me too,' I added. 'But Sirius hasn't noticed anything strange, and we can't accuse Paige without evidence.'  
  
'I know,' Hilary sighed. Bella was staring openly over at where James was sitting. Today, it was just him and Paige. Sirius, Remus and Peter where nowhere to be seen.  
  
'They're no doubt sick of her,' Bella said grimly.  
  
'Yeah, and I don't blame them. She's a nightmare.'  
  
'But James never gets sick of her, which is what I don't get.'  
  
'But he does,' I said suddenly. 'He does get sick of her. You saw him yesterday - he was looking anywhere but at her.'  
  
'You're right,' Hilary said slowly. 'If I didn't know he didn't, I'd say he had a twin. One of them likes Paige, and one of them doesn't.'  
  
'Yeah. And at the moment, that's the closest we've got to an explanation,' I sighed, casting one last look at James before tucking into my food.  
We had a mystery on our hands, that was for sure.  
~*~ AUTHOR's NOTE! ~*~  
  
I am so, so sorry this has taken so long! [Io molto dispiache!] Lol. Sorry in any language! I have had this typed for ages, but mum wouldn't let me go on the net because I didn't give her a card for mother's day, lol. Aren't I mean? It's not my fault I was too tired! Anyway, here it is. And again, no time for thank yous. But I might get around to them some time this century. :)  
  
Short and crap, I know, and I also know the whole James-is-acting-weird thing is gay and cliche but I was lacking ideas. Fee; free to suggest things you'd like to see! Suggestions are welcomed, and I'll give you credit!  
  
Guess what? Tomorrow I start the Forty Hour Famine. I don't know if you've all heard of it, coz I think it's an only Australian thing, but anyway. l I have to go forty hours without food, which will be very hard for me :( But it's good for you because I'll write to keep my mind of food, and the next chapter will be out sooner! Yippee! So far I've raised about thirty dollars I think, which isn't very much but every little bit counts, hey?  
  
OK on the last chapter, I'll answer a few questions.  
  
Lily DOES NOT have a crush on James. Not yet, anyway.  
  
I know that you can't move when you're stupefied, but let's just say Malfoy's crap at magic and the spell wore off quickly. :)  
  
And the reason Lily felt weird is YET TO BE REVEALED. So hold tight!  
  
Well, that's it for now. How about... twenty reviews? He he. I'm not that mean. But twenty would be great! Guess what..... if I can get, say, fifteen reviews, I'll give you a kiss. As in a Lily-and-James-kiss. How's that?  
  
Lol.  
  
Bye!  
  
*lots of kisses*  
  
SezZie 


	16. April, Brigette And Juliet

~*~ April, Brigette And Juliet ~*~  
  
~Don't wanna go with the crowd -  
  
~I wanna go with the flow  
  
~Don't wanna rush through life -  
  
~I wanna take it pretty slow  
  
~And steady  
  
~Don't wanna spend my time gettin' high -  
  
~I like me best when I'm low  
  
~Don't wanna race to the end -  
  
~I'll just take my time  
  
~Wanna be able to speak my mind  
  
~Never wanted to mime  
  
~My life  
  
~Nothing wrong with individuality  
  
~Differences are sublime  
  
~I refuse to wear a mask -  
  
~I'll be who I wanna be  
  
~I won't hide my heart away  
  
~Not scared to let you see  
  
~Who I am  
  
~So I'm gonna stand tall  
  
~And I'm always gonna be  
  
~Me.  
  
April Hopeturn. Brigette Welde. Juliet Vern. Christina Morgan. These were the names of the four girls Hilary, Bella and I happened to be on detention with.  
  
How did we get a detention? Let's just say that being fifteen minutes late to McGonagall's class isn't a great idea, and that 'we didn't realise what time it was' isn't a great excuse.  
  
And the other four? A whole stack of reasons - a combination of incomplete homework, back chatting teachers, talking in class and wagging lessons altogether. Or so we assumed, from their conversation.  
  
April I had already met, and was relatively surprised to see her in detention. Then again, I'd never really expected to be in detention myself. She clicked her tongue and tapped her foot impatiently.  
  
Brigette was tall, slim, blue eyed and blonde. Although her eyes weren't anything like James's - they were more of a soft, baby blue compared to his blazing sapphires.  
  
Juliet was short, petite and brunette. I got the idea from her attitude, though, that she wasn't as frail as she looked. In fact, she seemed to be quite feisty. Everything about her - the way she stood, slouched back and to the side, hands on hips - seemed to be daring someone to get her started.  
  
Christina had spunk - I knew it the minute I had been put in a room with her. She was cool, laid back and reserved, but she had a sharp tongue and ironic sense of humour. She looked like a common teenage rebel. Her hair was cropped short, so it bounced around her ears. It was impossible to tell what colour it was, since it was a mix of black, blonde and red streaks. Her eyes were a chocolate brown, her eyebrows thick and black. She had a black beauty spot above her lip to the left of her mouth, and her nose was pierced with a diamond.  
  
What we were doing for our detention we didn't know - McGonagall had told us to go to the charms class after dinner, and that some second years would be there. Apparently we'd be told what to do when we got there. So far, we hadn't been told a thing.  
  
Christina leaned back against a wall, watching me. She was chewing gum in a lazy way, an amused look in her eyes.  
  
'So what did you first years do to land yourselves with a detention?' she asked after eyeing me for a moment.  
  
'Five minutes late for class,' Bella shrugged. 'Big deal. Stupid McGonagall.'  
  
'It was more like fifteen,' I pointed out. Juliet laughed.  
  
'She's a dag, that one. We reckon she's married to Santa Claus.'  
  
Brigette's mouth twitched. Bella rolled her eyes.  
  
'Pity she doesn't go and live with him. At the North Pole, I mean.'  
  
'That'd ruin Christmas, that would,' Christina snorted. 'She'd run him off his feet so quick he wouldn't have the time to deliver presents. The name's Christina. You can call me Chrissy,' she said, extending her hand to Bella, who shook it.  
  
'Bella.'  
  
'My name's Juliet, and that's Brigette and April. What's yours?' she asked me.  
  
'Lily.'  
  
'Would you look at that, Morgan. Another Camelot maiden for you,' April laughed. 'Hi, Hilary - by the way. You know everyone, don't you?'  
  
Hilary grinned and nodded.  
  
'I'd thought I'd been forgotten. But what's this about Camelot?'  
  
'Oh,' April said, exchanging glances with Chrissy. 'Have you read about King Arthur and all that rot?'  
  
We all nodded.  
  
'When we first came her, Chris was a loner, and we used to call her names,' she laughed.  
  
'Morgana,' I said slowly, nodding. 'Morgan Le Fay?'  
  
'Yeah,' she grinned. 'Clever. Juliet and Brigette and I all already knew each other, but not Chrissy. But she's part of the crowd now. Although the Morgana thing stuck.'  
  
' 'Welde' means 'supreme goddess' in Celtic, so they call me Hera, who was the queen of the gods in Greek Mythology,' Brigette continued. 'And Juliet is, wait for it - Juliet Capulet.'  
  
'Still waiting for my Romeo,' Juliet added.  
  
'And I'm boring old April,' April grinned.  
  
'Nope,' argued Brigette. 'As much as you hate it, you're Aurora Hopeturn.'  
  
'Who's Aurora Hopeturn?' Bella asked.  
  
'Sleeping Beauty,' I murmured. 'She was real, wasn't she?'  
  
'They all were,' Hilary said. 'So were you - Laine of the Lilies.'  
  
I laughed.  
  
'So what are we supposed to be doing for this detention?' I asked.  
  
'Well, we were busted by McGonagall, too - and she told us we were meeting freaking Filch here, but I guess he's a no-show,' April shrugged.  
  
'We could sneak out,' Bella said, peering out of the door.  
  
'Nah. What the heck. There's only fifteen minutes left until curfew, so we can survive, I'm sure,' Hilary said dryly. 'Saves us getting busted again.'  
  
'Hilary! Those aren't words of a Potter!' April gasped with a laugh. 'If you were James, he'd want to get caught. He loves detentions.'  
  
'Well, I'm not James. Besides, he'd probably opt for no detentions so he could spend more time with Paige,' she said, rolling her eyes. April narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.  
  
'You've noticed that too, huh? He's been acting weird lately.'  
  
'I mean, nothing against Paige, but he hated her,' Juliet agreed. When Bella and I gave her a strange look, she laughed. 'Oh, you guys hate her too, huh? She gets a lot of that.'  
  
'Well, Paige is my friend, but James is my cousin,' April said. 'I think she's up to something. And let's face it, those two don't go together.'  
  
Chrissy spoke up again.  
  
'Have you ever noticed how James has lapses when he couldn't care less? Always around lunch. Then he's right back to the rose-coloured glasses.'  
  
We all nodded.  
  
'You should have seen them in potions,' Juliet agreed. 'It's gross. And Griggio always puts them together because they're top of the class.'  
  
'Paige is good at potions?' Bella asked. 'She doesn't seem the type.'  
  
'Yeah - but she's into mostly the beauty side of things. You know, hair colouring potions and stuff,' Chrissy shrugged.  
  
'Or love potions,' I said softly, something dawning on me. Everyone looked at me.  
  
'You're joking, right?' Bella laughed quietly.  
  
'It all fits,' Hilary said slowly.  
  
'Right in front of our eyes the whole time,' Bella added.  
  
'But would Paige do that?' April asked.  
  
'Yes,' Hilary, Bella, Juliet and I all answered together. 'We don't have proof. You could get in deep hippogriff dung if you accused her and you were wrong. It's a big thing to accuse something of. Love potions are illegal, aren't they?' Chrissy asked doubtfully.  
  
'We need to frame her,' I said. 'But how?'  
  
'Well, finding out the potion that's she's using is a start, so you can break the enchantment. It's probably something weak that wears off - that's why he has lapses.'  
  
'How do we find out what she's using though?' Juliet asked.  
  
Bella looked at her.  
  
'You guys are in her dorm. You must be able to do something.'  
  
Chrissy raised her hands.  
  
'I'm not getting involved. Paige can turn nasty, and if she finds us snooping...'  
  
'It's like betraying her,' Brigette said. 'She's our friend, even if she is doing something wrong.'  
  
'And James is my cousin,' April said stubbornly. 'Blood's thicker than water. I'll help you guys out,' she said to us.  
  
'Me too,' said Juliet. 'I've never liked Paige anyway.'  
  
'Never would have guessed,' Brigette laughed. 'You two fight about nothing. Anyway, I guess I'm in - even though James isn't exactly my favourite person. I'll see what I can find out, but that's it.'  
  
Juliet and April nodded.  
  
'We'll do some ferreting, but you'll have to do the rest. We're not siding; James and Paige are our friends.'  
  
'OK,' Bella nodded. 'Thanks.'  
  
Hilary looked at the clock.  
  
'Time to go.'  
  
'Right. Can you guys see what you can find out, and get back to us in two days?' Hilary asked. April gave her a playful shove.  
  
'Sure, cous'. We'll sort it out.'  
  
'And it was nice meeting you three,' Juliet grinned. 'We can see why the guys like you so much. You're pretty cool for first years.'  
  
'Thanks,' Bella laughed. 'You're pretty cool for second years.'  
  
I smiled.  
  
'Come on. I'm dead on my feet. This whole mystery has been keeping me awake.'  
  
'Yeah, well, this mystery is on it's way to being solved,' Bella sighed, linking arms with me and Hilary. 'So you can sleep easy.'  
  
* * *  
  
One week later, Juliet came running up and knocking on our dorm door.  
  
'Let me in, first years!' she yelled, laughing.  
  
Bella opened the door and Juliet slipped in.  
  
It was a Sunday morning, and we were all doing our homework at the last minute. I took off my glasses and looked up from my Transfiguration essay. Juliet's face was flushed, her normally perfect hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. She was wearing some grey slacks and a t-shirt. She had one knee raised with a very large book resting on it, and a pair of reading glasses sliding down her nose.  
  
'We've found it. Paige has always taken a flask with her to lunch - she puts some concoction in her juice that makes it like wine or something. She puts it in James's, too - but Brigette says that Paige never drinks any of her juice anymore. Which means she must have replaced her stuff with a potion so no one gets suspicious. And - here's the cool bit - we found this in the wastepaper basket.'  
  
Juliet pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to me. On it were scrawled names of what seemed to be potion ingredients.  
  
'But you said she makes a lot of potions. How do you know this is it?'  
  
'Well, April and I looked in her books and this is the only one that has matching ingredients.'  
  
She dropped the large book on the bed in front of me. I put my glasses on again and read it aloud.  
  
'The Penscale Potion is a weak love potion of medium difficulty that lasts anywhere between one and three days, depending on the brewed strength and the drinker's willpower.' I skipped through the next couple of paragraphs that explained how to make the potion. 'The Penscale Potion has few symptoms, the most obvious being dullness of the drinker's eyes. It is seldom used brew due to the fact that it can easily broken, if the drinker is kissed by another other than the object of the potion's affection.'  
  
'We have to get him kissed? No one would kiss James while he's dating Paige! It's like signing your own death warrant!' Hilary said.  
  
'Yeah, well, it's got to be done,' Juliet said.  
  
'I bags not,' Bella said. 'I'm taken. Sort of.'  
  
'I'm his sister,' said Hilary.  
  
'I'm taken,' said Juliet. 'Plus April's his cousin, and Brigette doesn't particularly like James.'  
  
Everyone looked at me.  
  
'No. No! No, no, no! I am not kissing James! There is no way!'  
  
'Come on Lily,' Bella said.  
  
'Do it for James.'  
  
'Do it for us.'  
  
'Do it to piss Paige off,' Juliet added.  
  
I whined.  
  
'Why me?'  
  
'Because. Besides, you're the closest to James. Other than me, that is,' Hilary said. 'He'll understand, too. You two are always hugging and stuff. You can do something like that then kiss him when no one's looking.'  
  
'Fine,' I said grumpily. 'But you owe me big time.'  
  
'Yeah, we do. Kissing one of the hottest guys in the school, poor you,' Juliet teased.  
  
'It will be poor me if Paige murders me.'  
  
'I've got it!' Bella said suddenly.  
  
'What?' we all asked, looking at her strangely. She blushed.  
  
'Well, you know that Paige hates how close you and James are. So, you hug him and stuff in front of her, then you full on pash him. In the Common Room or something, so she can't do anything drastic. Then the spell will break and everyone will see it happen.'  
  
'Great plan. One thing. I AM NOT PASHING JAMES!'  
  
'Whoa, Lily. Cool it tiger. This is for James, remember?' Hilary asked. Bella narrowed her eyes mischievously.  
  
'Yeah, Lily. I dare you.'  
  
My eyes opened wide. I never refused a dare. Damn it!  
  
'Damn you, Bella Figg!'  
  
'Well, good luck Lily,' Juliet laughed. 'You'll need it. I've got to fly and get this book back to the dorm before Paige does. See you guys around.'  
  
'Bye!'  
  
'Bye Juliet.'  
  
'Yeah,' I grumbled. 'Bye Juliet.'  
  
Hey everyone, just since everyone's said that it wouldn't let them review the last chapter: this would be because I deleted a chapter (the 'Help Me' one, regarding the fifteen reviews thing) and several chapters got moved back one, so it means you've reviewed the one before it, not that one. Sorry! It's just that the homework thing isn't an issue any more, so I thought I'd get rid of it :) It should work when you review this chapter. And I only got 9/15 for that chapter, so no kiss yet. :( See if you can get 15 reviews for this chappie! *I drive a hard bargain*  
  
Well, I gotta fly. Yay to Amelia Bedelia for guessing the plot - *piece of virtual cake for you* By the wya, what happened to my original reviewers like luv-jinxy and Candace and lizmarauder4eva??? Where you guys go? ;( If you're still out there, drop me a line, OK?  
  
Well, bye byes.  
  
Mind if I skip the thanks yous again? He he. Sorry. I just wanted to get this chapter out soon as poss.  
  
*hugs and kisses to all*  
  
Toodles!  
  
SezZie 


	17. Operation Persecute Paige

~*~ Operation Persecute Paige ~*~  
  
~Don't do this to me  
  
~Pack your bags  
  
~Just go away  
  
~Can't stand you anymore  
  
~Something changed me  
  
~Now I can see  
  
~See what you're really like  
  
~Don't make it harder  
  
~Than it already is  
  
~Just pack your bags  
  
~Pack your bags and go  
  
There were three Gryffindor first year boys - Rhys Jandiscus, Grey Parkson and Geoff Sanford. I didn't know them particularly well, but I was acquainted with them. We knew each other's names, said hello to one another, but weren't exactly friend material. We were slowly getting there, though - we just had to get to know each other better. Unlike Hilary, who was sick of her brother and his friends, we found the second year guys much more entertaining. Bella especially. But it was Bella who pointed out that we might as well get to know our own year, considering that James, Sirius and crew wouldn't be around in our seventh year.  
  
Rhys was a dreamy, softly spoken boy with caramel hair that curled into a small lock at the front that hung in his face. His eyes were the same colour, and had the same dreamy look as the rest of his face. Though, a little like Juliet, he wasn't what he seemed. I had seen him mucking around with Grey and Geoff, and I knew he could be just as rowdy.  
  
Grey Parkson I probably knew the best out of the three. He was the leader of the gang, so he was the one who we usually spoke to. He and I were at the top of most of our classes, and were often paired together. Grey was a goody-two-shoes - a vigilant student and teachers pet when Professors were involved, but a lazy and troublesome eleven year old boy when they weren't. James didn't like him, but I personally thought he was a pretty fun guy to be around. James had muttered something about good girls always being attracted to bad boys, but I ignored him. It wasn't like he was an angel or anything.  
  
Geoff was a short and surly guy, and he had a permanent scowl on his face. Grey usually got him to do all the dirty work for him so he didn't blemish his perfect record with the teachers by getting caught, and Geoff was either loyal enough or dumb enough to go along with it.  
  
Hilary liked Rhys, but Bella refused to look at anyone but Sirius. I personally thought she was asking for a heart break, since I couldn't see him staying interested with a younger girl for long. Myself? Well, I admit I did have the tiniest little attraction to Grey. Half of him annoyed me like hell, but the other half I couldn't help liking. A lot like Sirius, when I thought about it, except I didn't like Sirius in quite the same way.  
  
It was Monday afternoon, and I had just gotten out of potions, which was my least favourite subject. I was in a darker mood than usual, and scouring the school for Grey wasn't enlightening it any further.  
  
Why was I looking for Grey? Because he had Paige's potion book. Yes, the same one Juliet had showed us the day before. And why did he have it? Because he had stolen it from Juliet on her way back to her dorm. For amusement. Because that was the kind of guy Grey was.  
  
I was looking for him in all of the empty classrooms, because I knew his favourite afternoon pastime was setting up all sorts of traps and tricks for the following day's classes. On my way to Transfiguration, I made a detour towards the Great Hall, because I heard some yelling. Yelling equaled trouble, and Grey was drawn to trouble like a moth to the light.  
  
And, sure enough, Grey was stirring up trouble. It appeared that he was making some suggestive remarks towards some girls, and they didn't appear to be liking it. Sighing, I walked up and grabbed his ear. He spun around.  
  
'Hey, ouch,' he moaned as I dragged him away.  
  
'Ignore him. He just has nothing better to do,' I assured the group of Hufflepuff bimbos that included Jessica Mornington.  
  
'Ouch, Carrot - let go already!'  
  
'It's Lily,' I said, releasing his ear. 'Where's Juliet's book?'  
  
'Who's Juliet?' he asked, scowling and rubbing his ear.  
  
'You know, the girl you stole a book off yesterday? I want it back.'  
  
'Why?'  
  
'Because it's not Juliet's, it's a girl in her dorm's, and she took it with out asking, so she needs to put it back.'  
  
'Ooooh! She stole it,' he tutted, waggling his finger. 'Why'd she take it?'  
  
'Because. Why should I tell you?'  
  
'Because I have the book,' he said, lips forming a smirk.  
  
'We took it because someone has put a spell on James, and that book tells us how to break it. Now tell me where it is!'  
  
'Why should I? I don't like James,' he said calmly. 'Good for you! It's not your book!' I said, exasperated. 'If you're not going to give it to me, I'll go into your dorm, and get Rhys to give it to me.'  
  
'Oh no, Carrot. I can give it to you. Is here good? I mean, you don't want to go into the dorm - Rhys is up there, and he sucks in bed.'  
  
I stared at him.  
  
'Keep it in your pants, Grey. And I'm going to ask you one more time: Where is the book?'  
  
He sighed and folded his arms.  
  
'Geez, Lily. You're no fun. I'll drop it off later; I'm not going back to the Common Room now.'  
  
'You better,' I warned, backing away.  
  
'Pinky promise,' he said in a girly voice, rolling his eyes and waving his pinky around. 'Don't fret, Carrot. You'll strain a brain cell. Chill.'  
  
And with that, Grey thrust his hands in his pockets and walked off, whistling as he went.  
  
* * *  
  
'Lily, chill. James won't give. You're saving him from Paige, remember?' Hilary said casually.  
  
'Yeah. All you have to do is go up to him and kiss him. What's so hard about that?' Bella added.  
  
'Come to think of it, probably the 'and kiss him' part,' I shot back.  
  
It was time to put the plan into action. We walked casually down the stairs. James was sitting in a chair reading a book. He appeared to be alone. According to Juliet, Paige was making her way to the Common Room. I took a deep breath.  
  
'Go for it,' Bella whispered, giving me the thumbs up. I nodded and walked over to James, not believing I was about to do this.  
  
'Hi James,' I said, sitting down in his lap. He laughed and put the book down, looping his arms around my stomach.  
  
'Hey. You haven't seen Sirius anywhere, have you?'  
  
'Nope,' I replied, twisting around to face him. 'Why?'  
  
'Oh, I just haven't seen him for awhile,' he shrugged, bouncing his knees up and down. Just when I was about to open my mouth to say something, I got my cue. I heard a loud sneeze from behind the couch Hilary and Bella were behind. I took a sneak peek towards the door and, sure enough, Paige was coming in. She hadn't yet seen James and I though. I turned around and looked at him.  
  
'What I am about to do is completely as a friend, nothing more, and entirely for your own good,' I told him, looking into his eyes. He gave a puzzled look but before he had the time to follow it up with a question, I leaned down and kissed him. Hard. He seemed pretty shocked, so he didn't respond. I ignored the giggles I knew were Bella's that were coming from the other side of the room, and focused on my full-frontal snogging session with James. I stared into his eyes, and realised that, like the book had suggested, they had been very dull lately.  
  
After the initial wide-eyed shock, the dullness began to fade and confusion settled in. His eyes were back to normal, so I supposed the spell had been broken. I drew back slightly.  
  
'Lily, what the hell is going on?' he breathed.  
  
'I'm saving your ass. I'll explain later. Just... just play along.'  
  
'Why?' he hissed, resisting. I frowned at him.  
  
'Just because, OK? I'll explain later.'  
  
His brow still slightly creased, he allowed me to lean back in again.  
  
'James Potter!'  
  
Finally. How long did it take for someone to notice that their boyfriend was pashing another girl right in front of them? Honestly. I drew back slowly. James and I both looked to Paige, who was standing in front of our sofa with one hand on her hip.  
  
'Yeah?' he asked dazedly.  
  
'What, exactly, do you think you are doing?' she demanded, her brown eyes blazing. I smirked at her, which only infuriated her more. James still had no idea what was going on.  
  
'Er... kissing Lily?'  
  
Paige looked extremely put-out. I could tell the wheels were turning. She had to have realised the spell had worn off.  
  
'Why?'  
  
'Because we're madly in love with each other,' I said sarcastically. 'Gods, Paige. You're really desperate, aren't you? Using a spell to make James go back out with you? I honestly don't know how you do it. How can it be satisfying when you know he's only liking you because of a spell?'  
  
'A spell?' James asked. 'So I'm not going insane.' He rubbed his crinkled brow, frowning.  
  
'Yeah, a spell,' I said, looking from James back to Paige. Several people were staring at us.  
  
'Didn't you think people would notice? He hated you! Why would he go out with you again? Do you know how suspicious everyone has been?'  
  
Then, she laughed. Laughed.  
  
'So you caught me out, Evans. I'm really scared. Shaking. Big deal, OK? To you too, James. One day you're going to realise you made a mistake. Both of you. Run off together for all I care. But you'll just be making life difficult for both of you. I was saving your ass, James. My dad still thinks we're going out, and when he finds out you ditched me, look out.' With that, she flicked her hair coolly over her shoulder and stormed off upstairs.  
  
'And Evans? Watch yourself. You've got enough problems with Malfoy. You don't need me as your enemy.'  
  
I stared after her.  
  
'She had me under a potion?' James asked. I nodded, still staring after Paige.  
  
'She knew,' I said softly. 'How did she know?'  
  
'I don't know,' James said.  
  
Bella and Hilary walked over, shaking their heads in disgust.  
  
'I don't believe her,' Bella laughed bitterly.  
  
'Neither,' James added. 'Thanks... I guess.' He gave me a sidelong glance. I blushed.  
  
'Sorry about that. It was the only way to break the spell, and I was outvoted.'  
  
'Unanimous,' Hilary agreed, leaning over the back of the chair.  
  
'Not my decision,' I added. James feigned outrage.  
  
'And why wouldn't you want to kiss me?'  
  
'Because you smell,' Sirius said, flopping down in the chair next to James's. 'Hey! Why does Lily get to sit on your lap? I want to!' he whined.  
  
'Sirius, go practise your gay rituals on Remus,' James said dryly. 'I'm still getting accustomed to the fact that I have been in love with Paige Appleton. An enchanted one, anyway.'  
  
'Oh, woken up, have we?' Sirius commented airily. 'Over all the lovey-dovey stuff?'  
  
'Yup. I'm cured.'  
  
'So our girls are quite the cleveries, now. I like that in a girl,' he said, winking at Bella. She poked her tongue out at him.  
  
'Up-bup-bup. Move,' I said, shooing Bella away so I could get off James.  
  
'Aww, Lily come back!' James whined in a baby voice. I laughed.  
  
'You owe me big time. All of you.'  
  
'Why?' Sirius asked.  
  
'Well, you, because I cured your best friend. James because I cured him, and those three because I had to kiss James! Gods, you owe me your lives!' I said. 'I mean, imagine it. Having to kiss James Potter!'  
  
'Gross,' Sirius agreed.  
  
'Definitely,' Hilary added.  
  
'Revolting,' Bella piped up.  
  
'I can't be that bad,' James laughed, jabbing me in the stomach. I jumped away.  
  
'Hey!'  
  
James narrowed his eyes and got out of his chair to chase me. I squealed and ran away. He weaved in and out of the chairs and tables after me for a few minutes before I collapsed on a rug, exhausted. James laid down next to me. He narrowed his eyes, smirked, and jabbed me in the ribs again.  
  
'Got ya,' he teased. I poked my tongue out at him and rolled over, putting my back to him.  
  
'Rude!' he exclaimed. I stayed like that for a minute, listening as I heard him move around. Before I knew it, he had his hand at his sides and was tickling me.  
  
'Ahhh! James! Ooh! Ooh! Oh, stop! Stop, please! Ooh! Aahh! James that tickles!' I breathed, laughing.  
  
'Who's a great kisser?' he asked.  
  
'I - don't knoooooooooooooow! James, stop! Oh! Oh! James!'  
  
'Who's a great kisser?' he asked again.  
  
'You are! You are!'  
  
'Thank you.' he said, and his fingers lay motionless on my waist.  
  
'Get off!'  
  
'Nope, not yet,' he said, shaking his head.  
  
'Why?' I gasped, breathless.  
  
He grabbed my wrists and pulled me upright. He brought his face close to mine, until I thought he was going to kiss me, but he stopped, an inch away.  
  
'Because I said so,' he whispered, his breath tickling my face. I narrowed my eyes. My lips curling into a smirk, my hands shot to James's stomach. Pay back.  
  
'My, how the tables have turned.'  
  
'Hey! OK, OK! I take it back! Ooh! Ooooooooooooooooh! Lily! Stop! I'm sorry! OK! I'm a terrible, terrible kisser! Please! Aaaaaaaah!'  
  
'Oh, I'm not stopping now. This is too good an opportunity to pass up.'  
  
'Lily! You're the smartest person I know! Oh, oh! And the prettiest...'  
  
'Keep going,' I smirked.  
  
'And I am nowhere as good a kisser as you! You have really pretty eyes! Ohhhh! And a great smile, and I promise I'll never call you a cat again!'  
  
My hands slowed, and came to a stop.  
  
'Learnt your lesson?' I asked, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
'Yes, yes!'  
  
'Who's the boss?'  
  
'Lily! Lily is!'  
  
'Good.'  
  
I made to stand up, but before I could, someone grabbed my leg and tripped me flat on my face.  
  
'Oooh, you're asking for it now Mr Potter.'  
  
'Bring it on, Miss Evans,' James retorted, face flushed and his breathing irregular. I was still slightly out of breath, but I was better off than him.  
  
I stood up and sat myself on James's stomach, one leg either side.  
  
'Oof,' he said, not moving.  
  
'I'll give you oof,' I said.  
  
'Lily, tickle his neck. He hates it,' Hilary called from across the room.  
  
'Your neck, huh?' I asked evilly.  
  
'No, please. Not the neck, not the neck! Aah! Ah, ah, ah oooooh! Lily, nooooo!'  
  
While my hands were busy at his neck, he somehow managed to get his own up to my sides.  
  
'Aaaaaaaaaaah!' I giggled. 'James! Oh James, god! Stop!'  
  
'Not - until - you - do,' he panted.  
  
'Fine,' I breathed, and held my palms up in surrender. James stopped and we just stayed there, eyeing each other, chests rising and falling rapidly from lack of oxygen.  
  
'Get her while she's winded!' Sirius hollered encouragingly, but I think James was all tickled out.  
  
'Need... strength...' he laughed, pushing me gently off his stomach. I toppled off, too tired to get up. We lay in a heap on the floor.  
  
'Oof,' I said.  
  
'I'll give you oof,' he teased, raising himself up on an elbow.  
  
'Nope, I'm the tickle queen. No one may give me oof unless I allow it,' I said, wiping my forehead.  
  
'Oh, hail Lily, Queen of Tickles, huh?'  
  
'That's it,' I agreed, picking myself up, with much effort.  
  
'Help me up, Queen Lily,' James said, offering me an arm. I grabbed it and pulled slightly, then let it go without even trying to help him.  
  
'Nope. You're too heavy.'  
  
'I'm sure,' he said, scrambling to his feet.  
  
'Guys, I'm pooped. I'm going up to bed, OK?'  
  
'Whatever,' Hilary laughed. 'James, you mustn't tire Lily out. It's not good for her.'  
  
'Yeah, JP,' echoed Bella.  
  
'JP?' Hilary asked, laughing.  
  
'Oh, she's a creative one, our Belle is,' Sirius joked. Bella pretended to pout.  
  
'Very sexy,' I said in a deep voice. Everyone laughed.  
  
'Nightie night, Lil,' Bella said.  
  
'Yup. Night.'  
  
'Goodnight, Miss Evans. Don't let the bed bugs bite,' James warned.  
  
'I won't,' I assured him, poking my tongue out.  
  
Friends. You gotta love 'em.  
  
***********************  
  
OMG I so rule! Two chapters in............um, six days! Oh yeah, I rule! Lolz. Ignore me, hey. Well, review k? I gave ya the kiss anyway since I love yous so much, even though it wasn't a proper kiss, but it was still a kiss! I never said what kind of kiss! Lol.  
  
Cyas for now  
  
Next chapter.... another encounter with Malfoy and..... the last chapter for first year!!!  
  
Byes!  
  
SezZie xoxoxoxo 


	18. A Surprise To Say The Least

~*~ A Surprise To Say The Least ~*~  
  
~Isn't it funny how  
  
~Nothing  
  
~Ever goes to plan?  
  
~No matter how you try  
  
~It never  
  
~Ever goes to plan?  
  
~Isn't it funny how  
  
~Nothing's  
  
~Ever what it seems  
  
~No matter how you look  
  
~It's never  
  
~Ever what it seems?  
  
~But isn't it funny how  
  
~Everything  
  
~Always seems to turn out right?  
  
~No matter how bad it was  
  
~It somehow  
  
~Always seems to turn out right?  
  
One whole year. That's how long I had been at Hogwarts. Well, not exactly, but one school year, not including the breaks and stuff. That's right - it was only two days and I'd be a first year no more. Isn't it amazing how the time flies? It's pretty scary, huh? That's what I thought, anyway.  
  
Paige had been shunted sideways a little since the love potion incident, but she was working her way back into the group. I personally thought she had been lucky that James had decided not to inform the teachers. If it had been my decision, I sure would have.  
  
We'd found an ally in Juliet, too - she always came over and said hello if she was nearby and was always willing to help us out if we needed. Brigette, too, seemed to always be looking out for us, even if she wasn't as bright and up front about it as Juliet. She kept her distance, but I noticed she always lingered around if there seemed to be any trouble.  
  
Speaking of trouble, I hadn't run into Malfoy since our little 'dueling' incident. But my good luck was about to come to an end.  
  
It was just after our last class for the year - Charms, my favourite - and I was heading down to visit Hagrid. No such luck.  
  
'So, Evans. Have we come to our senses yet?'  
  
I spun around. Malfoy was leaning against a tree smoking a cigarette - a position he was often seen in. I opened my mouth to reply, but then shut it quickly and continued towards Hagrid's hut, hoping to ignore him.  
  
'Because if you had, I'd guess we'd be saying goodbye.'  
  
I couldn't help myself. I had to reply.  
  
'Why?' I snapped, stopping, but not turning to face him.  
  
'Because if you had any sense at all, Evans, you wouldn't be coming back next year,' he sneered, dropping his cigarette and pressing it into the ground with his toe. He straightened up and moved away from the tree.  
  
'Well I guess I don't have much sense then, because no one is going to stop me from hopping on that train at the start of next term,' I replied coldly.  
  
'One day you'll learn, Evans.'  
  
'Maybe. But not today.'  
  
Malfoy narrowed his eyes, and I saw his hand move to his wand, but he never made it. A cat jumped out of the tree behind him and landed just behind him. The awesome thing was, it transformed into a tiger as it hit the ground. I took a step back, alarmed, as the creature gave a low, warning rumble. Malfoy scrambled backwards.  
  
'Clear off, Malfoy,' came James's voice. He was heading towards us, Sirius, Remus, and Peter behind him.  
  
'Make me,' Malfoy sneered.  
  
'I can't, but he can,' James said, gesturing to the tiger. As if on cue, it gave a threatening snarl. Malfoy glanced at it, thought better of arguing, and began to walk off.  
  
'You watch yourself, Evans. Like I've said, your boyfriend isn't always going to be around to save the day.  
  
I watched Malfoy for a moment, but my gaze soon flicked to the tiger. James was scratching it's ears.  
  
'Where did that come from?' I asked, keeping well away. The large cat tossed it's head a few times, and took a step backwards. Within a few seconds, it was back to it's original cat form.  
  
'This,' Sirius said, 'is Firregaze.'  
  
I took a cautious step towards him.  
  
'He's a daemon,' James explained. 'A shape shifter.'  
  
'He's one of Hagrid's pets. He just wonders around the grounds,' Sirius continued.  
  
'A keeper of the peace, if you like,' Remus laughed.  
  
'What did Malfoy want, Lily?' Peter asked.  
  
'Oh,' I said, avoiding their eyes. 'Nothing. Just giving me a hard time about being a muggle born as usual,' I shrugged.  
  
James eyed me a minute before speaking.  
  
'Glad that school's finished?'  
  
'I guess,' I nodded. 'I'd like to see my mum and Joey again.'  
  
'You'll have to come stay again. My parents were quite taken with you,' he laughed. 'Their tune would change if they knew you were muggle born, though. I really can't believe them.'  
  
'Yeah,' I said wistfully, staring out over the lake.  
  
'Did you hear about Snape?' Sirius sniggered. 'He was caught jacking off in class.'  
  
The boys all snickered.  
  
'Sirius,' James scolded playfully. 'Not in front of a girl.'  
  
I snorted.  
  
'Never stopped you before,' I said.  
  
'Aww, not for Wiwly's wensitive wears,' James cooed, covering my ears. I tugged his hands away.  
  
I was still deeply intrigued by Firregaze the daemon. Ignoring James's gaze, I bent down next to the cat and stroked him behind the ears.  
  
'Can he change into anything else?'  
  
'Anything he wants,' James answered. 'Any animal, anyway. Depends on his mood.'  
  
I nodded and gave him one last pat before standing up.  
  
'James, can I talk to you for a moment?'  
  
He nodded, and we began to walk away from the group, towards the lake.  
  
'What's wrong?'  
  
'You haven't told anyone about Malfoy, have you?'  
  
'No,' he said. 'You didn't want me to.'  
  
'It's about Paige,' I said, wringing my hands. 'She knows about Malfoy.'  
  
James stooped to pick up a stone.  
  
'I know. I don't know how much she knows, though. She might have just seen you two talking or something. I don't think she has anything to do with him.'  
  
'Are you sure?' I asked. 'That stuff that happened at the start of the year, with our dorm being trashed and everything. It would of had to have been a Gryffindor.'  
  
James threw his stone into the lake.  
  
'Not necessarily. We've been into the Slytherin Common Room.'  
  
'Yeah, well you're just plain stupid,' I said. Why would anyone want to go in there?  
  
'Obviously not, if we got in there.'  
  
'I'm just uneasy, OK? Something about Paige gives me the creeps,' I said, frowning and throwing my hair over my shoulder. James put an arm around me.  
  
'Paige may be a scheming bitch, but she's not evil. You have to trust me on that one.'  
  
'And I should trust you, since you have such an excellent judge of character? You went out with her, which is what throws me,' I laughed, leaning my head on his shoulder.  
  
'Hey, my father enforced that relationship,' he defended.  
  
'Mm-hmm,' I replied.  
  
We'd come to a stop, just near the lake. Sirius, Remus and Peter were all seated in a circle further away, chatting.  
  
'I'm scared to go home,' I admitted.  
  
'Why?' James asked as we sat down on the banks.  
  
'I feel like I've abandoned everyone. Joey, mum. I feel really guilty that I hardly ever see Joey. When I go home it'll get worse. And I hate seeing her with Saylor,' I confessed. Saylor was Joey's new 'best bud', I had been told. I'd met her over Christmas, and although she was really nice, I sort of envied her friendship with Joey. 'I know I have new best friends, too, but it doesn't make it any easier.'  
  
'Yeah,' James said, skipping another stone across the lake's surface, rippling its smoothness for a few seconds. 'It's hard alright.'  
  
I looked at him curiously.  
  
'What are you thinking about?'  
  
James looked up at me, startled. It was a little while before he answered.  
  
'I don't want to sound mean or anything, but it's just hard listening to your troubles when to me, mine seem a lot bigger.'  
  
'What's troubling you?' I asked, cocking my head to the side.  
  
'My life. I feel like everything I do I do because my father wants me to. It's like I'm living his life, not mine. He has to control everything. Gods, Lily. Whatever you do, don't let him know you're a muggle born, ever. I don't think Hilary or me could stand losing another friend over him. It would be the last straw.'  
  
My mood dampened with James's, and I stared out over the lake, realising how lucky I was and how great my life was compared to James's.  
  
'I don't know how you do it,' I whispered, hugging him.  
  
'Neither do I.'  
  
* * *  
  
'Lily Evans, get your nicely shaped arse out of bed! It's home for the holidays!' yelled Bella, right in my ear, thank you very much.  
  
'I don't wanna,' I whined.  
  
'Yeah you do. You'll get to see your mum and your friends and your lovely sister Petunia,' she teased.  
  
'That's really getting me in a hurry,' I laughed.  
  
'Can't we just stay at Hogwarts?' Hilary moaned from under a pillow.  
  
'What morbid friends I have,' Bella said, hands on hips.  
  
'Shut the hell up,' groaned Toni from across the room. We lowered our voices.  
  
'Don't you want to see your parents?' Bella asked.  
  
'Nope,' Hilary said.  
  
'You just want to see your horses,' I said to Bella. 'I know you, Belle. Like the back of my hand.'  
  
'What's wrong with that? They're much simpler family. They don't tell you what to do. And they don't lie,' Hilary said, sighing.  
  
'Stop, stop! You're ruining my mood,' Bella scolded. 'Let's talk about bright, happy things. And you should get up and use the shower while the water's still hot.'  
  
'What do you mean?' Hilary asked warily.  
  
'Let's just say your brother and company think it would be very amusing if everyone got up to cold showers this morning. They're still asleep, so I'd take advantage of that fact if I were you.'  
  
On this note, I jumped out of bed and dashed for the shower. Not that there was any danger of Hilary beating me, she moved at one metre per hour in the mornings.  
  
I showered and dressed in what must have been record time. Arla was scuttling around the dorm when I got out. Hilary shot into the bathroom and shut the door.  
  
'Morning Arla,' I said cheerfully, toweling my hair.  
  
'Oh, morning Miss Lily!' she squeaked, beaming. 'Arla is sorry she must come while Misses are still here, but Arla wanted to say goodbye!'  
  
'What do you mean, come while we are still here?' I asked, tossing the towel on the bed and reaching underneath to pull out my trunk.  
  
'It is the sign of a good house elf not to be seen, Miss,' Arla explained.  
  
'Nonsense!' Bella exclaimed. 'We love to see you! You can come see us whenever you want, Arla.'  
  
Arla gave an enormous, toothy smile.  
  
'Thank you, Miss Arabella. You and Miss Lily are too kind!'  
  
Bella and I exchanged smiles.  
  
'Packed?' I queried, tossing my last few belongings into my suitcase.  
  
'Yup,' Bella replied. 'You?'  
  
'Yeah. Except for the stuff in the bathroom. I should have grabbed it while I was in their. God knows how long Hilary will be,' I grimaced, laughing.  
  
As if on cue, we heard an extremely loud scream from the girl in question. Bella and I looked at each other before rushing to the door.  
  
'What's wrong?' I yelled through the door.  
  
'Hil?' called Bella.  
  
A few seconds later, the water turned off.  
  
'Hilary, are you OK?' I asked cautiously. There was a lot of slamming around before the door was pulled angrily open.  
  
'JAMES POTTER, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!' Hilary shrieked, storming out.  
  
'Oh,' Bella laughed. I tried not to show my amusement. It appeared Hilary had lost her hot water. Let's just say one should never get between Hilary and her hot showers in the mornings.  
  
We followed from a distance as she stomped down the stairs into the Common Room, where James was lounging lazily on a couch. Sirius was on the floor, leaning against the back of another.  
  
'Morning ladies,' James said casually, the corners of his mouth twitching.  
  
'You are so, so dead,' Hilary said, glaring at him.  
  
'What ever for?' James asked innocently. Too innocently.  
  
'You better bloody well get your lazy arse out of that chair and undo whatever you did to my hot water so that I can have a shower, or I will personally decapitate you. And it will be slow and painful, let me assure you.'  
  
'Chill, Hil, chill. You'll get your shower. Just give it an hour or so. We need it cold for peak hour,' Sirius said.  
  
'No, I will not chill. You will change that water, and NOW, even if only so I can have my shower. Because if I don't get my shower, someone will be severely injured very soon. And I don't like your chances of escaping.'  
  
James, obviously used to Hilary's morning mood swings, remained unfazed.  
  
'I told Bella we would be doing this. I'm sure she warned you,' he said calmly.  
  
Bella nodded.  
  
'Lily was in the shower, OK? I don't know what you guys do, but us girls shower separately,' Hilary snapped.  
  
Sirius got a slightly horrified look on his face. James gave a laugh, which only irritated Hilary further.  
  
'Come on, Hilary. Lily takes five minutes in the shower. You, on the other hand, take half an hour just to get out of bed, let alone make your way to the shower. You knew this was going to happen, but did nothing to work around it.'  
  
'That is not the point!' Hilary screeched. 'You shouldn't be messing with the hot water in the first place, OK? Especially on a morning like this, when everyone wants to get ready and GO HOME!'  
  
A door flew open upstairs.  
  
'Can you keep it down?' an irritated voice called before the door slammed shut again.  
  
'Nope!' Sirius called cheerfully back.  
  
Shaking my head with amusement, I sat down next to James. He shifted to make room. I leaned over to whisper in his ear.  
  
'I think you should change the water back,' I giggled. He smiled, but shook his head.  
  
'Nah,' he whispered back. 'It's fun annoying her.'  
  
'You're so mean,' I laughed. Suddenly, everyone went quiet. Hilary drew her wand and pointed it at James's forehead. He swallowed and moved backwards from it. 'Hilary...' I said slowly. If there was one thing Hilary was good at, it was transfiguration - the entire Potter family was, as far as I knew. And James didn't seem to be liking his chances of remaining in his human form. Transfiguration of students was of course not allowed, but like anyone was around to prevent it.  
  
'Go and change that water back now,' she said in a icy tone.  
  
'Hilary, it was just a joke,' Bella said, frowning. 'Calm down.'  
  
'No, I will not calm down! I want a bloody shower, or you will be seeing a livid Hilary for the rest of the day!' Hilary snapped.  
  
James's hands had slowly crept into his robes, and he pulled out his wand, pointing it at Hilary.  
  
'Put your wand down, Hilary. Geez, it was just a joke,' he said.  
  
'Only if you change the water back.'  
  
'Yessir,' James muttered, getting up. When he proceeded in walking as slow as possible, Hilary shot a spark at his feet. James yelped and dashed upstairs.  
  
'Be quick about it!' she called before frowning and flopping down on a couch. Everyone stared at her. Sirius, who had taken refuge behind a chair, slowly crept out.  
  
'Don't have a cow, Hilary,' Bella muttered, receiving a glare. But Bella wasn't one for holding her tongue.  
  
'What the hell was that? Take some chill pills. It was a joke. I mean, we all know you like your freaking shower but you didn't have to be such a bitch about it. Even if James is your brother. What's your problem?'  
  
'I don't have a freaking problem!' Hilary shot back. 'Except that I want my shower in the mornings. And since we've only been living in the same house for eleven years, James should know that!'  
  
Sirius and I exchanged glances.  
  
'And you should know that James loves a joke, and likes to get people riled up before he does anything! You should have known he was just going to annoy you. Even I know that, and you've known him longer than me. You don't have to be so touchy!' Bella replied, glaring at Hilary.  
  
'I can be as touchy as I like! It's none of your goddamn business, Arabella Figg!' Hilary screeched, running up off stairs, passing James on his way down. He gave her retreating back a questioning glance, but Sirius and I both shook her heads.  
  
'Just leave her, mate,' Sirius said. 'She's not happy.'  
  
Bella was sitting on a chair, massaging her temples.  
  
'Well, at least we have peace, since you've GOT YOUR STUPID SHOWER BACK!' she yelled in the direction of the stairs. James raised his eyebrows and let out a low whistle.  
  
'Bitch fight?'  
  
'Oh yeah,' Sirius said. I nodded. Bella took a deep breath.  
  
'I'm going for a walk,' she said, standing. Sirius nodded, and I gave her a small smile. So much for a happy morning. After a few moment's silence, Sirius got up and went after Bella. I gave James a sidelong glance.  
  
'It was just a joke,' James shrugged. 'I didn't expect her to get so perturbed about it.'  
  
'Yeah, well. She did,' I said, giving a hollow laugh. James looked up at me, looking into my eyes for a moment. I held his gaze.  
  
'So you're mad at me too?' he asked in an exasperated way.  
  
'No,' I said, tearing my eyes away to look at the ground. 'And I'm not taking sides.'  
  
'Suppose that's best, because I know whose side you'd be taking otherwise,' he said under his breath. I frowned.  
  
'Just because me and Hilary are friends doesn't mean I'd choose her over you! I thought we were friends too.'  
  
'We are, if you want us to be,' James said.  
  
'Yeah, well I do. And I don't pick because of what I like, I pick because of what I think.'  
  
'Lily, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just... a little irritated after Hilary's reaction before, OK?'  
  
I didn't reply.  
  
'Oh god, Lily. Don't get mad,' he said, groaning, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead.  
  
'I'm not mad,' I said. 'And I never said I was. In fact, I just told you I wasn't. Geez, nice to know you're paying attention,' I shot back at him testily.  
  
James opened his eyes.  
  
'What is with everyone today? You are mad at me. Why?'  
  
I glared at him a moment longer before I burst out laughing.  
  
'I was joking,' I laughed, putting a hand on his shoulder. 'Don't worry, not everyone's mad at you. It's just everyone except me.'  
  
'Oh, that's relaxing. As long as you're not mad. I can stand a crowd of a thousand or so mad people, but when they're placed next to an angry redhead, there's just no competition.'  
  
I scowled and then laughed, whacking him on the knee.  
  
'James is scared of Lily...' I teased.  
  
He nodded solemnly.  
  
'I would never get in the way of your temper. I've heard it's like a hurricane.'  
  
'Yes, and you better believe it, James Potter. Because I'm always right, you never are unless you agree with me. If you disagree, you shalt face thy wrath.'  
  
James laughed.  
  
'I'll write that down.'  
  
* * *  
  
Three and a half hours later, breakfast was over and done with and we were all awaiting the train's arrival. I was standing with Bella, Hilary, James, Sirius and Remus, and there was some tension in the air. Bella and Hilary were on either side of me, bluntly ignoring the other; Hilary was glaring at James; and James was mock glaring at me. Despite the dark moods, I was tempted to laugh - which I think was James's intention. After awhile Sirius seemed to get bored with the silence and took up pulling faces at Remus, and I couldn't help it anymore. I burst out laughing. James gave a satisfied smirk and coolly raised an eyebrow. Hilary looked down at me with a look that clearly said -what-are-you-smoking-I-want-some. Bella looked away, obviously trying not to laugh herself, and Sirius kept trying to catch her eye and prevent her from succeeding. The corners of Remus's mouth were twitching.  
  
Once I started, I couldn't stop. I doubled up, completely losing it. After watching me amusedly for a few moments, James crouched down to my level. Smiling sympathetically, he gave me a pat on the shoulder.  
  
'It's OK, Lily - we understand your problem,' he said soothingly, which didn't help. If anything it made me laugh harder. Soon enough, Bella lost it, which set everyone off. Even Hilary was smiling and shaking her head in amusement.  
  
When I finally recovered I was severely out of breath.  
  
'Lily, you are whacko,' Sirius said sympathetically.  
  
'Shut up and look in the mirror, Sirius,' James said playfully, pulling me up.  
  
'Yeah, Sirius,' I echoed.  
  
'What she said,' Remus added. Hilary and Bella laughed, but exchanged a glance and immediately fell silent, looking in opposite directions. James rolled his eyes and poked his tongue out at Hilary's back, causing a small giggle to escape from my mouth.  
  
'Don't you start again,' he warned mockingly, wiggling his finger.  
  
Just then, the train came whistling into the station. Bella looked at it and took a deep breath.  
  
'Well. One whole yeah, huh?' she sighed.  
  
'Yeah. One year ago and I didn't even believe in magic.'  
  
Someone closed their hands over my eyes.  
  
'What did you believe in?' they whispered against my neck. It was James.  
  
'Dunno,' I shrugged.  
  
'Yourself? Friends? True love and happiness?'  
  
'I guess,' I said, shrugging again. 'Why?'  
  
'Because if you believed in those, you believed in magic,' he replied, dropping his hands away. We picked up our trunks and, in James's case, owl cage, and made for the train.  
  
'But they're not real magic,' I responded.  
  
'No? Then tell me, Lily Evans. What is real magic?'  
  
'It's... spells and things. I don't know, enchantments and stuff.'  
  
'And what makes a person able to do magic?' he questioned further.  
  
'Their blood,' I said.  
  
'How do you explain yourself? You have no magical blood in your family.'  
  
I frowned.  
  
'I don't know,' I said.  
  
'Magical people are people that are special. They have a purpose in life, and they were born different to everyone else. Sure, a magical parent usually produces a magical child, but there's the odd squib. And the magic had to come from somewhere to begin with. Magic requires something different, Lily. Whether it's love, or courage, or power.'  
  
'But there's bad magic,' I argued as we sat down.  
  
'Of course there is, or good magic would have no purpose. There needs to be an equal amount of evil and good in the world. Unfortunately, good magic is used for good things, and fighting isn't one of them. Which is why dark magic is so much more powerful.'  
  
Completely and utterly confused, I sunk into a silent thoughtfulness.  
  
'But what can conquer dark magic, then?'  
  
'Nothing,' James said plainly.  
  
'There had to be,' I pressed. 'There must be something stronger than magic.'  
  
'What?' he asked. 'What could be stronger than dark magic?'  
  
'Love,' I said slowly. 'Love is more powerful than evil.'  
  
James gave me an odd look.  
  
'How?'  
  
'Evil is based on power, and greed. Those people have no heart, and don't understand love. So wouldn't it be easy to be defeated by something you didn't understand?'  
  
'I guess,' James said slowly. He sunk into deep thought, apparently considering it.  
  
'Lily, you so have got to come over during the summer,' Bella interrupted. 'You've got to come see my horses!'  
  
I laughed and shook my head.  
  
'You and those horses...'  
  
'Jamsie and Remmie have to come play at Swiwius's house!' Sirius said gleefully.  
  
'Wouldn't miss it for the world, Sirius,' Remus assured his friend.  
  
'Where's Peter?' Sirius demanded suddenly.  
  
'Went to sit with Marc, I think,' James said vaguely. 'Can't remember what he said.'  
  
Something about Peter made me wary, but he seemed like a nice enough person. He was quiet, and reserved, so I guess his submissiveness was what made everyone overlook him. I kind of got the feeling he followed James and Sirius around for protection.  
  
'Lily, you will inevitably end up at my house at some point in time, so I won't bother making a date,' James said. 'But when you do decide to come, give me two hours notice so I can put on my makeup and my best dress for you.'  
  
'For me, huh?' I laughed.  
  
'Only for you,' James grinned dramatically.  
  
Hilary had to laugh at that.  
  
'James, the sight of you in a dress would make anyone run a mile.'  
  
Hilary seemed to be at peace with her brother, at least.  
  
The train had been in motion for about half an hour when a tapping came at the window. Bella opened it and a sooty grey owl flew in.  
  
'That's Gray's owl,' Hilary said with amusement. James stood up and pulled a letter form it's foot.  
  
'It's for you,' he shrugged, tossing it at me.  
  
I opened the letter. It was indeed from Gray.  
  
'OK then,' I said, offering the letter to James to read. He raised an eyebrow.  
  
'What are you going to say' he asked, passing it on for Bella so she could read it too. And in all honesty, I didn't know how I was going to reply.  
  
Because Gray Parkson was asking me out.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Weeeeeeeeeeeeee I rule, longest chappie yet! Woohoo!  
  
Man, keep up the reviews, k? Good to see some of my old reviewers back! Missed you's! Well, I'll shut up now cuz the sooner I do the sooner th chapter comes up. K?  
  
Bye!  
  
SezZie 


	19. Trampolines, Amongst Other Things

~*~ Trampolines, Amongst Other Things ~*~  
  
i ~Inside, outside  
  
~Signs I could never read  
  
~Places I've never noticed  
  
~Wonder how  
  
~I see them, all of a sudden  
  
~Shapes and colours  
  
~Seeing things I've never seen  
  
~Different sights  
  
~How come  
  
~They seem to suddenly appear  
  
~My clouds are clearing  
  
~The sun is coming out  
  
~Shine some rays on my day  
  
~Chase the rains away  
  
~Now my rainbow's starting to bloom  
  
~Everything's moving  
  
~Changing right before me  
~Advancing on to happiness  
  
~Back to  
  
~The cheerfulness from before  
  
~My clouds are clearing  
  
~The sun is coming out  
  
~Shine some rays on my day  
  
~Chase the rains away  
  
~Now my rainbow's starting to bloom  
  
~So perfect now  
  
~My rainbow's out and bright  
  
~But I'd give it up for you  
  
~Pack away  
  
~My rainbow, save it for another day i  
  
'Are you going to say yes?' Bella pressed, leaning closer. She was grinning, and clutching the message with glee.  
  
'I don't know,' I said slowly, glancing around.  
  
'Oh come on, you two are so made for each other. Everyone's been waiting for you two to get together. You two are practically the king and queen of the first years,' she giggled.  
  
'What do you think, Hils?'  
  
She shrugged with disinterest.  
  
'It all depends. Do you like him?'  
  
'Yeah,' I said slowly. 'But I've never gone out with anyone before, and I still think it's a bit young to be doing stuff like that. It's different for you, Bella. You're heaps pretty and you're into that kind of thing. And you two were brought up to go out with people your parents want you to.'  
  
'First time for everything,' Sirius pointed out.  
  
'Speaking of, are you two even 'going out' or what?' I asked.  
  
'Dunno,' Bella shrugged.  
  
'Guess so,' Sirius said. I shook my head.  
  
'You two are hopeless.'  
  
Remus laughed.  
  
'You get that with Sirius,' he said.  
  
'And what do you think, Mr Lupin?' I asked, leaning back into my seat.  
  
'About Gray? I don't know. Like Hilary said, it all really boils down to whether you want to go out with him.  
  
I suddenly realised that James had said nothing throughout all of this. He was absent mindedly stroking Gary's owl's back, staring out the window. I gave him a playful shove.  
  
'You've been awfully quiet, Mr Potter,' I said in a low tone to him. He moved his head slowly around to look at me. He shrugged.  
  
'What do you think about Gray?'  
  
'I don't like him, so my opinion wouldn't be fair,' he said, looking back out the window. I frowned and leaned my head on his shoulder.  
  
'What's wrong?'  
  
'Nothing,' he assured me.  
  
There was a sudden scratching at the door, and Sirius stood to open it. It was a very familiar cat.  
  
'Firregaze?' James, Sirius, Remus and I asked together, grinning but utterly confused at the same time. With the new amount of space and privacy, Firregaze morphed into a snow leopard. Bella and Hilary froze, staring at the oversized cat with alarm.  
  
'He's harmless,' I grinned, stroking the warm, soft fur.  
  
'That's his favourite form,' James said. 'I think he was originally one, because he prefers to be a cat. When there's not enough room, he'll go into a house cat. But it's usually some kind of feline.'  
  
'He can turn into anything?' Bella asked, totally recovered form her initial shock.  
  
'As far as we know,' Remus said.  
  
Firregaze yawned, opening his mouth wide to reveal row after row of sharp, pointy teeth. Hilary's eyes opened wider, if possible. But the cat took no notice of her and turned to me, it's tail twitching playfully. His fur was a beautiful soft grey pelt, and his eyes were gleaming green, much like my own. I reached out to pat his head and he extended a large, rough tongue and licked it lovingly. After a couple of licks I withdrew my hand and he curled his large fluffy body up into a ball at my feet.  
  
'What do you think he's doing on the train?'  
  
'Probably transformed and snuck on looking like someone's pet. He knew where you were, anyway. He can probably smell Storm Shadow on you. But I reckon he's appointed himself your guardian,' James said. 'He's never far away when you're in trouble. I mean, that day me and Sirius found you, he showed us where you are. We were heading for the castle, but he got us to follow him.'  
  
'Speaking of,' interrupted Sirius. 'Where is Storm Shadow?'  
  
I shrugged.  
  
'He'll be off somewhere, lurking in the shadows. Don't worry; he'll turn up when it's time to leave.  
  
By the time the train came to a stop, Storm Shadow had appeared, Peter had joined us, and I had two problems to deal with. One, working out what to do with Firregaze, who was insisting on following me everywhere, and two, replying to Gray. Not at all decided on the latter, I decided to work with my problem number one first.  
  
'James, what the hell am I meant to do with our good friend Firregaze the daemon?' I asked, blocking his exit from the compartment. Firregaze, still in his snow leopard form, was sitting up and grooming his front paws lazily.  
  
'You'll have to take him home,' he said, puzzled.  
  
'What? I can't take him home! I live surrounded by muggles, James! I can't afford to have a shape shifter changing from one animal to another all the time. What if he's seen?'  
  
'Just don't let anyone see him.'  
  
'Can't you get him to stay in one shape?' I asked.  
  
'No, I can't. You could, but daemons change with their moods. The only form he can stay in without changing is as he is, though,' James said, folding his arms over his chest and looking down at Firregaze with a slight frown on his face. The cat took no notice of him. Quite the opposite, he turned his back in the act of ignoring him.  
  
'James, how do I explain a snow leopard? If anyone sees him they'll have a fit! He'll get taken away to a zoo!'  
  
'Well, use his ability to your advantage. You're smart, Lily. Get him as a cat till you get home, then let him free, and if people are around get him to turn into something more average.'  
  
I groaned with frustration.  
  
'Can you come with me?' I begged. James raised an eyebrow.  
  
'Why?'  
  
'Because. Besides, maybe you can convince my mum on this one. She loves you,' I said, rolling my eyes. A small smirk threatened to take over his face, but he controlled it.  
  
'Let me go tell Hilary,' he sighed, putting his things down next to mine and dashing off after his sister.  
  
He returned five minutes later, panting.  
  
'Will you be allowed?' I asked.  
  
'Yeah,' he nodded. 'My parents don't care what I do as long as it isn't disgracing the Potter name.'  
  
'Come on then,' I said, bending to pick up my trunk, Storm Shadow and Firregaze at my heel. As if he had been listening to our conversation, Firregaze had become a shiny and sleek Persian, with the same green eyes.  
  
'But how are you going to get home?' I asked.  
  
James shrugged. 'I've got my broom.'  
  
I frowned.  
  
'I hate it how you go everywhere on that thing. Isn't it dangerous?'  
  
'No,' he laughed, as we approached my mum's car. Mum held out her arms for a hug.  
  
'Hello,' she said. 'Home, huh?'  
  
I nodded.  
  
'Hello, James,' mum added, seeing him behind me.  
  
'Mum, is it OK if James comes over for a little while? It's just that I'm looking after this cat for a friend, and he needs to show me how to look after it,' I said, gesturing to Firregaze, who blinked lazily before raising his head regally.  
  
'I suppose so. Isn't it a gorgeous cat?' she cooed, stooping to stroke Firregaze's fur. He purred and arched his back as if it required much effort.  
  
'Yeah. Yeah he is,' I smiled as James helped me load my trunk into the boot. I assisted him with his, then we hopped in the back seat, Garnet's cage in between us. I noticed that Petunia was in the front seat, her nose in a magazine.  
  
'Hello Petunia,' I said impassively. She made a small noise in return, and I rolled my eyes. Some people were beyond help.  
  
'So, James - how do you like Hogwarts?' Mum asked as she jumped in the car and put the key in the ignition.  
  
'I think it's great,' he shrugged. 'But I can't really say, since I've never been anywhere else.' 'And how's your year been, Lily?'  
  
'Great,' I grinned, pulling out my hair elastic so that my hair fell freely over my shoulders.  
  
'Look at you hair!' she exclaimed, looking at me in the mirror. 'It's grown a couple of inches.'  
  
Mum loved my hair. She was always complaining about how boring her own was, and how gorgeous mine was. I happened to think hers was just as lovely, but I was quite proud of my hair.  
  
When we got home, I just stood in our driveway staring at our house for a while, taking it all in. It had all seemed so distant, at Hogwarts. James came up behind me, carrying my trunk. He set it down next to me and followed my gaze.  
  
'Anyone would think you've never seen it before,' he laughed.  
  
'I feel like I haven't,' I said quietly. James placed a hand on my shoulder in a comforting way before moving off to get his trunk. Firregaze had slinked out of the car and was at my feet again. Storm Shadow had already slipped off into the garden.  
  
'Don't tell me you've brought home another disgusting creature,' Petunia said, looking down her nose at Firregaze. He glared at her.  
  
'You better keep him away from me. Do you know how much fur falls off those things? Ugh, move!' she snapped at the cat who was in her way. She aimed a kick at him, and he was upon her in an instant, a wildcat. I immediately grabbed the scruff of his neck and yanked him away from Petunia who had screamed and tripped over backwards. Firregaze gave a low growl before turning in a small circle and shrinking back into his Persian form.  
  
'That... thing is a monster! No way is it coming inside my house!' Petunia shrieked.  
  
'No, you're a monster,' I said coldly. 'You insulted him. You attack people when they insult you, why shouldn't he? Just leave him alone and he'll leave you alone.' I picked Firregaze up and stroked his fur protectively, my face in a determined frown. James had paused at the boot of the car, watching me and Petunia eying each other, holding back uncertainly. 'I'm bigger than him, and he can learn his place if he's going to be around me,' Petunia shot back. As if in reply, Firregaze leapt from my arms and was an enormous tiger in an instant, his green eyes fixed on Petunia, daring her to continue. She stopped when she saw this, and backed away.  
  
'There is no way mum will let you keep that thing,' she said. 'Just you wait!'  
  
She stalked off to the house, muttering to herself. James approached slowly.  
  
'She's so... grrr!' I said with frustration, stomping a foot. Firregaze rubbed up against my legs in answer, but the gesture was slightly different when coming from an animal about twenty times as big as a pet cat. I laughed and stroked the tiger's back. 'Thanks, but you really can't upset her like that, or you'll get kicked out. Besides, there's muggles around, and they aren't allowed to see you do that. He licked my hand apologetically before turning back to a cat, not a Persian but the tougher looking tabby I had met when Malfoy had been annoying me.  
  
'Try to stay like that, OK?' I asked him, crouching to stroke him. He let me pet him for a few minutes before he padded off towards the house. I turned to James.  
  
'Well, here goes the start of one extremely long summer,' I sighed.  
  
'I envy you,' he laughed. 'That sister of yours looks trying.'  
  
'Oh, she is, believe me.'  
  
'So what exactly did you want me to do about this daemon of yours?'  
  
'I don't know, James! I don't even know if mum will let me keep him, if Petunia tells. Besides, I don't know what he eats, or anything. Can't you take him?'  
  
'Well, he'll eat pretty much anything. You have cat food for Storm Shadow, don't you? That'll do him. And if you ask him not to change in front of muggles, he'll listen to you. But I can't take him if he wants to stay, Lily.'  
  
'But why is he following me?' I asked, frowning thoughtfully.  
  
'Wouldn't have a clue. By the way, you left this on the train.' He held out the note from Gray. I took one look at it and sighed.  
  
'What do I even say to him, James?'  
  
'Do you want to go out with him?'  
  
I thought about it for a moment. I had admitted to myself awhile ago that I had a crush on him.  
  
'I guess. So should I say yes? I'm just... I don't know. Not sure. I've never done this before.'  
  
'Well, say yes if you want to. You can only give it a go,' James shrugged, and we began to walk to the front door.  
  
* * *  
  
'So... what do you normally do around here?' James asked, laying on his back in the middle of my bedroom. I was sitting on my bed, looking out the window, frowning.  
  
'Lily? What's wrong?' he asked, sitting up to look at me.  
  
'Oh? It's just that me and Joey's windows used to face each other,' I said. 'But that room's empty.' There was nothing there except bare walls and an empty bookcase.  
  
'Maybe she's moved to a new room?' he suggested.  
  
'Yeah,' I said softly. 'Maybe.' But why? Why would she do that?  
  
As if on cue, Joey's voice came drifting up there stairs.  
  
'Hey Lily!'  
  
There door opened, and there she was. I grinned and got up to hug her.  
  
'Hey!'  
  
'Hey,' she said back, smiling. 'Hi... James, isn't it?'  
  
I stepped back to survey Joey. She was wearing a black tube top and a short denim skirt. Very un-Joeyish to say the least. She had definitely changed.  
  
'How come your stuff isn't in your bedroom?' I asked her. Her smile faded.  
  
'Oh. I found out a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to tell you in person,' she said slowly.  
  
'What?'  
  
'We're moving to New York.'  
  
'What? When? Why?'  
  
'Mum and dad have split. Dad's staying here but mum's been offered a job over there, and I'm going with her.'  
  
'Oh my gosh. Joey, I'm so sorry! But you can't move... no way!' I said.  
  
'Fraid so,' Joey said, running a hand through her shiny brown hair. It was even longer than it had been at Christmas, nearly down to her waist.  
  
Firregaze, who was curled up as a snow leopard in the corner, gave a throaty growl. We all looked at him. Joey's eyes opened wide.  
  
'Oh my gosh! Lily Evans, since when do you have a snow leopard?'  
  
'I don't,' I laughed. 'He's actually a daemon.'  
  
'A what?'  
  
'Shape-shifter,' James answered, his eyes still on Joey. I rolled my eyes. They were practically drooling at the mouth over each other.  
  
Just then, there was a scratching at the window. A sooty black owl was on the sil. I walked over and let it in.  
  
'That's Orion,' James said. 'Dad's owl.'  
  
The bird indeed flew straight to James. He pulled the envelope off his foot and unfolded the letter.  
  
'It's from Hilary. She said that they're going out to a formal dinner and since there's not enough time for me to come back and go with them, may I stay at your house tonight? She's told dad I'm at Sirius's, apparently. I'll just go to his house, if you want.' 'Whatever you want. But you can stay for dinner. Mum's made roast turkey just for tonight, and there's way too much for just three people. You can probably stay too, Jo.'  
  
'Can't,' she said, grimacing. 'Mum wants me home to pack by five. We're leaving next week.'  
  
'Oh,' I said, my eyes fluttering back to the window.  
  
'Yeah, it's a bummer. She said I should come over and say hi then come back. She only gave me like fifteen minutes.'  
  
'That sucks,' I said, crinkling my nose. 'We're going to have to get together and have a girls day out before you leave. You know, the old gang - Melody, Elizabeth.'  
  
'Yeah,' Joey nodded. 'Well, I might come see you tomorrow, OK?'  
  
'Of course it is!' I grinned, hugging her again. 'See ya!'  
  
'Bye!' she waved, dashing back down the stairs.  
  
'Bye!' James called.  
  
Firregaze gave a lazy stretch before curling into a ball.  
  
'Oh, it's a hard life, isn't it,' I sympathised, stroking his fur and feeling his muscles quiver.  
  
'I should owl Sirius,' James said, looking at his watch. 'Do you have some parchment?'  
  
'Yeah - in my drawer,' I said, flopping back on my bed. James got up and grabbed a piece out of my desk drawer and began scribbling something on it. He attached it to Orion and sent him out the window.  
  
'What do you want to do?' I sighed.  
  
'What is there to do?'  
  
'I don't know. We can go play on the trampoline,' I shrugged.  
  
'What's a trampoline?' James asked curiously. I sat up and stared at him.  
  
'You don't know what a trampoline is?' I said with wonder.  
  
'Nope,' he said, shaking his head. I laughed.  
  
'It's like a big mat made of elastic stretched over a frame. You jump on it.'  
  
'Why?'  
  
'Because it's fun,' I said, rolling my eyes. 'Come on, I'll show you.'  
  
I grabbed his arm and pulled him downstairs and out the back door and into our garden. I loved our garden. It was huge, and was framed by flowers and plants, but the middle was entirely grass, so there was heaps of room to play. The trampoline was in the corner. I ran over and climbed up and began bouncing.  
  
'See? You jump, and you go higher and higher. And you can do tricks.'  
  
'What kind of tricks?' James asked, still watching with curiosity.  
  
'Like this,' I said, falling forward onto my stomach and bouncing back up. Then I did a forward flip. James grinned.  
  
'Cool,' he said.  
  
'You want a go?'  
  
'OK,' he said. I crawled off and he hopped on. He stood in the middle of the mat for awhile, then started to slowly jump. He tried to flop onto his stomach but didn't quite make it up again. I laughed as he sat there, wondering what had gone wrong.  
  
We played on the trampoline for a bit until mum called us in for tea.  
  
'Come on, James. Dinner's ready.'  
  
I had to practically pull him off, he was having so much fun. When he touched the ground, he jerked in shock.  
  
'What?'  
  
'I got an electric shock,' he said, shaking his head.  
  
'Yeah, that happens everytime you get off. Come on.'  
  
He came, but with reluctance. He kept glancing back.  
  
'Sirius so has to get one of those.'  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Hey, my faithful readers.  
  
Well, thank you for all the reviews, keep it up!  
  
Just a note to whoever asked: yeah, I did kinda steal the whole daemon thing out of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Naughty me. *hehe*  
  
OK, quick survey:  
  
Should Lily go out with Gray? Should Bella and Sirius go out yet or wait? And...  
  
A little contest thingy... I want something to happen at Joey's goodbye party. Everyone give me an idea! Bets one gets used and credit for it and... virtual slices of whatever you want for a year! Lol.  
  
Well, bye byes.  
  
SezZie 


	20. James The Jack Russell Juggler

If you've read the first part of this chapter already, scroll down to the stars to find the second half!!!  
  
~*~ James The Jack Russell Juggler ~*~  
  
~Now and then  
  
~You'll go and shock me  
  
~Take me completely by surprise  
  
~Leaving me to ask  
  
~What the hell was that?  
  
Cake. Food. Banner. Yep. Friends. Well, most of them. Now all we needed was...  
  
'James?' I laughed, immediately cracking up at the sight of Mr-I'm-holier- than-thou in a grass skirt and a bikini top.  
  
'Is this reality or have you just popped out of an episode of Hawaii 5o?' I asked, leaning on the back of a chair for support. He glared good naturedly at me.  
  
'Oh, dear gods. Bella! Get you arse down here, and grab a camera while you're at it!' I yelled, still laughing hysterically.  
  
'Shut up, would you?' James sighed.  
  
'Nope,' I giggled, shaking my head, shaking with amusement.  
  
'Lily, shut it,' he moaned, cheeks burning red.  
  
Just then, Bella appeared at the top of the stairs. She took one look at James and collapsed against the railing.  
  
'Lily, I didn't know you were dating a transvestite. Did you?' 'No, because I'm not dating anyone,' I replied, narrowing my eyes at her before turning to James.  
  
'OK. I am now officially over my hysterical breakdown. You may now explain.'  
  
'Sirius did it,' James said plainly.  
  
'How?' I asked. 'We're not allowed to use magic out of school.'  
  
'Oh, but he didn't do it out of school. He mixed the concoction at school.'  
  
'A 'concoction', huh?' I asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
'What - the bring-out-the-true-homosexual-in-you concoction?' Bella giggled, walking giddily down the stairs.  
  
'No, the bring-out-your-inner-costume-theme charm. He supposedly charmed some water and gave it to me in the car. And drinking the charm in the water seemed to have the same effect as having the charm cast on me.'  
  
'Hmm,' I said thoughtfully. 'That could be handy to know.'  
  
'Anyway,' he interrupted, glaring at me, 'I need it fixed.'  
  
'But Jamsie,' I said, smirking. 'We aren't allowed to do magic out of school. And I do quite like you like this.'  
  
'I agree. All in favour of James staying like this throughout the party, raise your hand,' Bella giggled. She and I both raised our hands.  
  
'A unanimous vote!' Sirius said gleefully, appearing at the top of the stairs.  
  
'Sirius, I'd keep away from me unless you want to die a very slow and painful death,' James said in a strained, cheerful tone.  
  
'Try and catch me in that skirt, James. You wouldn't want it to fall down,' Sirius teased.  
  
James's cheeks reddened, and I cocked my head to one side to look at him.  
  
'And what's all this about?' I asked curiously.  
  
'She doesn't have to know,' James told Sirius.  
  
'I think I do,' I argued.  
  
'I think she does too,' Sirius agreed, walking down the stairs very slowly. 'No she doesn't,' James moaned.  
  
'Yeah, she does,' Bella piped up.  
  
'What?' I asked, grinning. Sirius poked his tongue out at James before turning back to Bella and I.  
  
'Jamsie boy here,' he said teasingly, 'isn't wearing any underwear.'  
  
'What? I am too!' James protested. 'Where did you get that from? I thought you were going to tell her...' He shut his mouth quickly.  
  
'Nah, James is wearing underwear. Fortunately. The thing is, Jamsie made a promise in the car.'  
  
'Oh?' I said airily, enjoying every minute as James squirmed uncomfortably.  
  
'He said, during a short conversation in which I teased him about being madly in love with you and wanting to marry you, that the day you wanted to marry him was the day that he would pull his skirt down in front of everyone at the party.'  
  
I grinned mischievously. I got up and walked over to James. He gulped as I got down on one knee.  
  
'James, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?'  
  
'Would you fancy that, James? It seems that Lily wants to marry you,' Sirius said with an air of surprise.  
  
'But not sincerely,' James said, his face pale.  
  
'You never said the day she wants to marry you sincerely, James. You said -'  
  
'But I do want to marry him,' I interrupted. 'I want to marry him so that he will pull his skirt down at the party.'  
  
Sirius and Bella both smirked at James.  
  
'There you have it, Potter,' Bella said. 'Lily wants to marry you. For twisted reasons, yes, but wants to all the same.' 'And since today is the day Lily wants to marry you, it is also the day you must pull down that lovely skirt of yours at the party.'  
  
'Noooooooooo,' James whined.  
  
'Yeeeeeeeeees,' I mocked.  
  
'Face it, bro, you're screwed,' Hilary called from the couch.  
  
'Oh, sleeping beauty's awake, huh?' I asked, seeing Hilary sit up and stretch.  
  
'I need an afternoon nap to beautify myself for the party,' she said disdainfully.  
  
'Lav, no amount of sleep could make you beautiful,' James sighed.  
  
'Shove it, James. I'm not the one in a grass skirt.'  
  
James immediately shut his mouth.  
  
I snorted.  
  
'Looks like you got told, Jamsie,' Sirius laughed.  
  
'Shut up,' James said, plucking at the seam on his bikini. 'How do you girls wear these things?'  
  
They appeared to be sitting rather uncomfortably, especially considering James had nothing to 'fill' the bikini with. Bella and I read each other's minds.  
  
'Shoulder pads,' we said together. Hilary and Sirius smirked as I dashed up the stairs, returning a few minutes later with two of my mum's creamy shoulder pads.  
  
'Give us a look, Jamsie,' I grinned, fitting one into each section.  
  
'Much better!' Sirius exclaimed.  
  
'You guys are so going to pay for this,' James muttered.  
  
* * *  
  
Joey was at Melody's. She had been there since yesterday, and they were both due back around four. This was the moment when we would all jump out and say surprise very loudly, possibly scaring her half to death. This would have been almost guaranteed to work, if you overlooked one small detail.  
  
Sirius Black and James Potter were involved.  
  
They just couldn't seem to understand the whole concept of surprising someone. As professional pranksters, you would think the element of surprise would be the tiniest bit valued by them. Secondly, James was in a difficult mood.  
  
'Lily, why do I have to wear this skirt?' he whined.  
  
'Where should we go for our honeymoon?' I asked teasingly, ignoring his question.  
  
'Gross,' James said, obviously taking the whole idea of a honeymoon the way that James Potter would.  
  
'Never heard of that place I'm afraid, Jamsie. How about the Bahamas?'  
  
'Whatever,' he muttered, walking out of the kitchen and into the lounge.  
  
'What's up your bum, Potter?' I sighed, following him and flopping down on the Taylors' couch beside him.  
  
'Nothing,' he said gruffly.  
  
'Don't lie,' I said, poking him.  
  
'Don't poke,' he said back.  
  
'Someone's in a grump,' I said.  
  
'Someone's in a prying mood,' was his reply. I rolled my eyes and changed the subject.  
  
'Did you and Sirius finish putting up the decorations?'  
  
'Dunno,' he shrugged.  
  
'Why don't you know?' I asked, frowning.  
  
'Because I wasn't helping.'  
  
'Why not?'  
  
'Oh gods, Lily! What's with the twenty questions?' he snapped, raising his hand. Surprised, I jerked back, scared he was going to strike me. I searched his eyes for the few seconds he held my gaze before he turned away.  
  
'Sorry,' I said, frowning at him. 'No need to bite.'  
  
I got up to leave when his hand grabbed my arm. I looked at him.  
  
'I'm sorry,' he said, releasing his grip. I sighed and left the room. I couldn't be bothered dealing with James Potter and his mood swings at that moment.  
  
'Sirius!' I yelled. 'Yeah?'  
  
'Have you finished with the decorations?' I shouted, glancing towards the lounge where James was still moping on the couch.  
  
'Yep!' he called back.  
  
That was good - it meant everything was done. I checked my watch. Quarter to four. Where was everybody? As if on cue, Bella walked in.  
  
'René's here,' she said.  
  
And so she was, for soon enough, René was calling out.  
  
'Lily Evans, get your bum here and give me a hug!' she laughed, coming out into the kitchen. James appeared out of the lounge just as she pulled me into a tight hug.  
  
'Oh my god, it's so good to see you!' she squealed.  
  
'You too,' I grinned, pulling back. Just then, the door bell rang.  
  
'I'll get it,' called Hilary, running downstairs and out into the hall. 'Oi, Lil! Elizabeth's here!' I dashed out into the hall.  
  
'You came!' I said, surprised.  
  
'How couldn't I?' she laughed softly. I was just greeting her when a red car pulled up in the driveway. 'Who's that?' I asked, peering through the window on the door.  
  
'Sam,' René answered automatically, coming to have a look.  
  
'Oh,' I said, wincing slightly.  
  
* * *  
  
Ten minutes later and everyone except for Avril and Peter had turned up, and we were all hiding in Joey's activity room, lights off, waiting for her to come home. It was almost guaranteed that Joey and Melody would come through here; it was the quickest way to Joey's room. The problem was that it was upstairs and the bathroom was downstairs, so everytime someone needed to go and had to sneak out they had a long way to walk.  
  
Finally, at about five past four, we heard the doorbell. There was a bit of shuffling around, then everyone fell silent. A few minutes later there were footsteps, and Joey and Melody's voices. Everyone held their breath, and soon enough the door opened. Joey flicked on the light and was looking over her shoulder saying something to Melody when we all jumped out.  
  
'SURPRISE!'  
  
She screamed, and jumped about a mile. After she had regained composure, she began to laugh.  
  
'Oh my god, Lily Evans, what have you done?' she laughed, turning immediately to me.  
  
'How do you know it was me?' I asked innocently. Joey placed a hand on her hip.  
  
'Because I know you. Come here and give me a hug!'  
  
I did.  
  
'Thank you so much!' she said happily.  
  
'You're welcome,' I grinned back. Most of the people present came up and hugged her, the exclusions mostly my friends who didn't know her that well. I was half expecting James to go up and hug her, but he didn't. Which reminded me.  
  
James had a promise to keep.  
  
************THE NEW PART!!!******************  
  
~*~~  
  
'Hey Jamsie,' I said, grinning and flinging an arm around his shoulder.  
  
'What?' he asked warily.  
  
'Oh, nothing. Maybe just a little promise you made...'  
  
James groaned. 'Lily...'  
  
'You promised!' I insisted.  
  
I pulled him along as he grumbled, into the middle of the room.  
  
'Hey, everybody!'  
  
Everybody slowly fell quiet, looking curiously at me and James.  
  
'Um, OK. Maybe I should explain. This morning, my good friend James here sort of made a promise that day I was wanting to marry him was the day he would pull down this lovely skirt, which is a long story in itself, at Joey's party. And it stands to fact that I proposed to him about two hours ago, so since it's the day I'm wanting to marry him, it's also the day he's pulling down this great skirt of his.'  
  
At this point, James rolled his eyes, Joey grinned, quite a few people clapped, and Sirius wolf whistled.  
  
'Go on, Jamsie,' I teased.  
  
'What do you want me to do? Just undo it at the back, or what?' he asked, frowning.  
  
'Yeah, just take it off,' I shrugged. He reached around the back and broke the knot that held the skirt together. It immediately fell down to his ankles, leaving him in short-like bikini bottoms that weren't as revealing as your average bikini bottom but without the privacy of boardies. Everyone laughed and whistled and James did a little dance which made them laugh harder. In the confusion that followed, James disappeared. I frowned to myself, but didn't think much of it. But when he had been gone for some time, I decided to go look for him. Several people had asked about Joey, too, so I wasn't too surprised to find the two locking lips out in the front yard.  
  
I sat down near the window with interest and amusement. Joey drew back, then went on tip toe to whisper something in James's ear. But the funny thing was, James didn't seem very happy. He had a hard look on his face, and his mouth was set in a line. In fact, he had been like that all day. The only time he had seemed the tiniest bit lively was when I had been teasing him just before he took the skirt off, and during his little dance. But then again, James always enjoyed being the centre of attention.  
  
Tiring of watching my best friends making out, I slipped back upstairs to where the party was, and slid into a circle of people next to Bella, and casually joined in the conversation. After awhile I noticed some people I didn't know over the other side of the room and decided to go and introduce myself.  
  
I had left René in charge of inviting Joey's new school friends, since I didn't know them. Seven of them had turned up in total.  
  
'Hi,' I said, walking up to one of them while she was getting a drink. 'My name's Lily.'  
  
She raised her eyebrow at me and coolly took a sip of my drink.  
  
'Tiffany,' she said. She was African-American; tall, dark and full framed. I didn't think much of her clothes, though - it was more a question of what she wasn't wearing rather than what she was. She was half hanging out of it.  
  
'You're Joey's friend?' she asked, chewing gum and laughing disbelievingly.  
  
'Yeah,' I said, slightly icy. 'I am.'  
  
'Right. Well, laters,' she said, walking off to join her circle of people.  
  
So this was who Joey hung with now? The popular snobs - the kind of people we had detested in primary school. Rich or perfect snobs that thought they were holier than everyone else or something. And I wasn't about to be someone I wasn't just to fit in with the cool people.  
  
'Kinda sad, huh?' asked Melody, coming up behind me. I turned.  
  
'What?'  
  
'Those girls Joey calls her friends. They're all fine while they're all gorgeous and have money, but they'd never be there for you. Just last week they ditched some girl because she was in an accident and scarred her face. It was terrible.'  
  
'Joey used to hate those kind of people,' I sighed.  
  
'Yeah, but if you were offered the chance to become one of the beautiful people, what would you do? It's recognition, Lily. Everybody loves them. They rule the school.'  
  
'It's hard to believe,' I said softly.  
  
'You see the black girl?'  
  
'Tiffany?'  
  
'Yeah. She's a ballet dancer, and she's bulemic. Retches in the toilets every lunchtime. The one with the long blonde hair? According to everyone, lost her virginity last year. Lily, these people are barely twelve years old. It's crazy.'  
  
'Gods, that is crazy,' I said with disbelief. 'They're throwing away their childhood. All they ever want to be is sixteen but when they get there they'll be wishing they'd slowed down.'  
  
'Well, well, well. If it isn't Lily Evans.'  
  
I winced at the voice and slowly turned around.  
  
'If it isn't,' I replied, forcing a smile. 'Sam. So nice to see you again.'  
  
'The pleasure's all mine, really,' he replied. He had become reasonably taller, and his hair was longer. He still had his lazy trademark smirk and casual stance.  
  
'So tell me again why you don't go to our school?'  
  
'I go to school over in France,' I said, frowning.  
  
'Why? You're not French.'  
  
I shrugged. 'It's a... special school,' I said truthfully.  
  
'Yeah, figured. Stupid smart girly that you were,' he said, screwing up his face. He glanced suspiciously at me. I was just opening my mouth when he beat me to it. 'Yeah, I know, stupid smart doesn't make sense. They totally contradict each other -'  
  
'Sam, what I was going to say is, stupid-smart is an oxymoron. Like accidentally on purpose, and taped live,' I teased.  
  
'So it's not grammatically incorrect, then,' he replied, smirking.  
  
'It depends how you look at it,' I said, shrugging. 'Evans, you're a contradiction in a nutshell,' he sighed.  
  
'I heard you're going out with Joey,' I said with amusement, smiling across the room at James as he met my eyes sneaking back in with Joey. He didn't smile back.  
  
'You heard right,' Sam shrugged, just as Sirius came up, bouncing like a hyperactive ferret on sugar pills.  
  
'Can we go on the bouncy castle yet, Lily?' he whined. Joey, who was standing nearby, overheard.  
  
'Lily Evans, you got a bouncy castle?' she screeched.  
  
'Oh my gosh, I'd forgotten. Yeah, it's out the back,' I laughed, seeing Sirius bursting with the effort of containing his excitement.  
  
Joey's eyes had lit up, and she looked pretty happy about it. But when we got out into the backyard, something happened that annoyed me a little. It was all because of Victoria. Another one of Joey's friends. Her and Tiffany had decided that bouncy castles were so not cool that it wasn't funny, and that only someone pretty childish would have thought of it. For a moment I had thought Joey was going to contradict them, but no. She must have felt she had some image to keep around her friends and decided to play fit in with the cool people. She gave me an apologetic glance before following her new friends inside.  
  
I just rolled my eyes and watched her walk off for a minute before I heard someone come stand behind me. It was James.  
  
'I'd like a go on the bouncy castle, Lils,' he said quietly, and I gave a small laugh.  
  
'Yeah, I guess. You're not worried you're going to break a nail, are you?' I asked, putting an arm around his shoulder as we walked over, Bella and Hilary coming up next to us and Sirius running excitedly ahead.  
  
He was on the castle in an instant, squealing like a five year old. Bella stood, arms crossed, watching him with amusement. James and I exchanged a glance, reading each other's minds. In a few seconds we were up behind her, picking her up and swinging her through the air a few times before throwing her onto the castle. She was screaming and laughing at the same time, and I could tell she had loved it. She landed, out of breath, and looked at James and me.  
  
'I wanna do that again,' she breathed.  
  
But before I could reply, James had picked me up and thrown me on too. 'Hey!' I exclaimed, landing on my knees and bouncing a few times. I stood up and tried to balance in between Sirius's energetic jumping, glaring accusingly at James, who grinned innocently before taking a run-up and jumping on too.  
  
'Come on, Hil!' I yelled, and moved towards to edge to grab Hilary's arm and yank her on. She fell on her stomach and laughed before pushing me over.  
  
Let's just say we had a bit of fun.  
  
* * *  
  
Half an hour later and we were inside for birthday cake. It went reasonably well - Joey loved it - but the good luck didn't last for long.  
  
Joey had taken her cake and moved away, letting everyone else move in to get their pieces. Bella had been reaching for hers when Dana, another of Joey's friends, had shoved in to grab it, shooting Bella a dirty look. I saw Bella's eyes flash angrily and that was all I could see before the cake exploded. All over Dana, Tiffany, Victoria and Sirius. The Sirius thing was a fluke, I supposed - he just happened to be in the way, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed rather happy about it. However, the bitch brigade didn't.  
  
For a moment, everyone just stared in shock. Bella was looking frantically at me and I decided I had better say something before something really bad happened.  
  
'James,' I said, glaring at him, 'I can't believe you actually put one of your stupid fireworks in the cake! Look at the mess!'  
  
Luckily for me James caught on to what I was trying to do, and played along.  
  
'I didn't mean to!' he insisted. 'It was an accident!'  
  
That was all the explanation anyone needed, although Joey did shoot me a few suspicious glances. A big commotion was caused by the three girls screeching about how their new designer clothes were ruined, but everyone who wasn't part of their group pretty much ignored them. Most people were actually laughing. I was making my way over to Bella when I passed James.  
  
'You owe me,' he whispered with a smirk.  
  
'Lily, I'm so sorry!' Bella said when I reached her. 'I didn't mean to! I was just so mad, and it just happened...'  
  
'Yeah, well it wasn't too major,' I said with relief. 'Gods, I haven't done anything like that for ages.' 'Me neither,' she said. 'The last thing I did before that was before I came to Hogwarts. I blew up a vase.'  
  
'I covered him in paint,' I giggled, gesturing to Sam. 'I got a detention for it, and that's how I met René.'  
  
It was then when Sirius called for everyone's attention. Oh no, I was thinking. What was Sirius going to do?'  
  
'Everybody, I have for your entertainment today, James, the Jack Russell Juggler!'  
  
Now, as long as I had known Joey, I had known her dog Gemma. Gemma was a jack russell, and had recently had five puppies, whose names were Ralph, Forrest, Milo, Zip and Cookie. Joey had, because she was moving, given them all away. It had been difficult for her, I knew, but there just wasn't them room for six dogs in a New York apartment, no matter how small they were. But now, in walked James, looking rather amusing. On his head was a hat that consisted of a dog's basket, and in it, sitting quite happily, was Ralph and Forrest. James was wearing his skirt again, but had put a t-shirt over the top. And under each arm, was another puppy. Milo and Cookie.  
  
Joey was ecstatic. Her jaw dropped and she rushed over, taking her puppies off James and hugging them all madly. They all got rather excited, licking her happily. James and Sirius were grinning at her excitement.  
  
'We're afraid we couldn't hunt down Zip, his owner seemed unreachable...'  
  
'Oh my gosh, thank you!' Joey said, hugging both James and Sirius. I smiled. James and Sirius had done that for someone they barely knew. And it made me appreciate what great friends I had. Even Tiffany and her friends didn't say anything to get in the way off Joey and her puppies; the look on her face when she had seen them had been enough to tell everyone this was something no one could interfere with.  
  
Another half an hour and the puppies had to be returned, but not before a tearful goodbye from Joey. People were saying their goodbyes and leaving. We'd put the finish time for the party as six, because Joey had to leave at seven thirty, and it left us time to pack up. By quarter past six, I was the only one left. Joey and I were about to let the bouncy castle down.  
  
'Listen, Lily... I'm sorry about the bouncy castle,' she said. 'It's just... I don't know. I feel like whatever they say goes.'  
  
'You know,' I said slyly, looking at the castle, 'You could always have a go now.'  
  
Joey grinned.  
  
'Race you,' she called, and we both dashed over and jumped on.  
  
That was the pretty much the most fun last half an hour I could have spent with Joey before she left. When it was time for her to leave, it wasn't easy.  
  
'I can't believe you're going,' I whispered.  
  
'Me neither,' she whispered back. We were both crying now, and Joey had mascara running down her face.  
  
'I'm going to miss you so much, Lily Evans.'  
  
'I'll never forget you,' I said, hugging her.  
  
'Friends forever?' she asked.  
  
'Yeah,' I grinned, pulling back and wiping my eyes. 'Friends forever.'  
  
'We're both going to miss you, Lily,' Mrs Taylor said, giving me a quick hug. She had already spent the day before with my mum, because she was working that day.  
  
'You too, Mrs Taylor.'  
  
'Tell you're mum I said goodbye,' she said, wiping a tear from her own eye.  
  
'I will,' I promised, as she and Joey hopped into the cab.  
  
'Goodbye, Lily!' Joey called as they drove off, waving until I couldn't see her anymore.  
  
'Yeah,' I whispered to myself, still wiping my eyes.  
  
'Goodbye, Joey Taylor.'  
  
*********************************************  
  
Guys - biggest apologies, OK? One, ffnet wasn't letting me update. Two, I just sliced my knee open right on the knee cap and have stitches, so my knee hurts and sitting in a computer chair isn't that comfortable. But you're lucky that a day off school meant I had nothing better to do rather than type even though I was in pain. I was in pain anyway :( but that's why I've only written half a chapter. But it makes chappie 20 whole now! Isn't that good? :D  
  
Well it's better than nothing and I promise PROMISE I'll update Saturday. If I don't, flame me. *grimaces*  
  
Oh yeah, the following people contributed to the plot and are now owed large quantities of virtual whatever:  
  
Jodz  
  
Celine  
  
Amelia Bedelia (great idea with the cover blowing, btw - I just couldn't se it because Joey returns in later chapters and the plot needs her to be able to remember magic. Otherwise i would have used it!)  
  
Maigon Jesolite  
  
And to whoever asked: I made Firregaze up. The name, I mean.  
  
And Amelia Bedelia: YOU HAVE TO UPDATE LIGHT RIGHT NOW OR IM GONNA KICK YOU OUT THE WINDOW AND NOT WRITE YOU ANYMORE CHAPTERS!!! Hmmph. Wow, I'll settle down now. Ignore me, OK? But it would be great if you updated. *hint*hint* 


	21. Peppermint And The After Dinner Mints

~*~ Peppermint And The After Dinner Mints ~*~  
  
~When I was a little girl  
  
~I often dreamed of happy endings  
  
~When everything would turn out perfect  
  
~All the conflicts resolved  
  
~But in reality, for me  
  
~Everytime I reach for the solution  
  
~Another problem comes along  
  
~I dreamt of that prince  
  
~With his shining gold crown  
  
~And a kingdom that belonged to him  
  
~Sweep away my problems  
  
~And we'd gallop into the sunset  
  
~Escaping into the sky  
  
~And the horse, it was white  
  
~A flowing mane and tail  
  
~Slender legs with diamond hooves  
  
~That never grew tired  
  
~But in reality, for me  
  
~Everytime I reach for the solution  
  
~Another problem comes along  
  
A week after Joey had left and I was at Bella's. In the end I had relented to her constant nagging me to come over. It was funny, really. The emptiness that I had begun to feel had only settled in when Joey had moved to New York, yet I rarely spent time with her anyway. But the most obvious solution would be to find someone to fill the emptiness, yet I had found myself declining all invitations from my friends. Something about Joey's departure had definitely messed up my head.  
  
Bella was about as horse crazy as Joey had once been. She was fortunate enough to even have six horses of her own. Or her family's, anyway. And of course, the first thing Bella wanted to do was go riding. So I agreed; I had been riding with Joey in the past and had enjoyed it a lot.  
  
So there I was, standing, yet again, outside a stall having a staring competition with a horse. Peppermint wasn't overly large; just a few hands bigger than a full-grown pony. He was a soft dapple grey with a nice white mane. Oh yes, he was handsome. But if I had been blind I would have mistaken him for a donkey. Stubborn as a mule. This had happened several times before - it seemed there was just something about me that told horses I was just asking for them to disobey me.  
  
My first difficulty was just getting near the thing. It's surprising how easily horses can avoid you, even in a rather boxed-in stall. When I finally did get the saddle over him, Peppermint decided that it would be amusing to puff out his stomach while I fastened the girth, making it loose. In the end I gave up.  
  
'You win,' I told the horse, jumping up to look over the wall of the stall. 'Belle? Your horse isn't being very co-operative!'  
  
Bella appeared in a few seconds, her pockets bulging.  
  
'What's in your pockets?' I asked curiously.  
  
'The answer to your problems,' she grinned. 'Peppermint demands a treat before he'll behave.' She reached into her pockets and produced a handful of after-dinner mints. I laughed.  
  
'Peppermint is a peppermint eater, is he?'  
  
'Of course! Where else would he get his name?' Bella laughed. 'Here, you give him the rest of these and I'll saddle him up.'  
  
Ten minutes later and we were out in the field. Bella was riding a palomino named Mountain, which I was glad she was riding and not me. Mountain was an extremely high-spirited voice very much like her owner that seemed to be as mischievous as a... as a... I don't know. As mischievous as a Sirius? Sounds like a valid figure of speech to me.  
  
Peppermint, on the other hand, was being rather well behaved after his little treat, for which I was thankful.  
  
'Have you cantered before?' Bella asked me, eyes gleaming from under the black curls escaping over her face from under her helmet.  
  
'Mm...' I said warily, not at all liking the look she was getting.  
  
'Wanna race?'  
  
Well, it couldn't hurt, could it?  
  
'Alright then,' I said, shifting in the saddle and pressing my feet tighter into the stirrups, adjusting to the change in Peppermint's rhythm as he made a smooth transition between gaits. Bella urged Mountain on, and he took the invitation eagerly. Narrowing my eyes playfully, I encouraged Peppermint, who didn't need to be asked twice. He didn't seem to like being behind his friend, and immediately appeared to realise the competition.  
  
I rocked with him as he bounded up, neck craned forward elegantly. Soon enough Bella and I were side by side. I turned to grin at Bella, and she grinned back. When I turned back to face forward however, my eyes opened wide. Peppermint and I were approaching a long, fallen long. And it was too late to steer clear of it.  
  
'Bella...' I said anxiously. Within seconds the fallen tree was directly in front of us. Grimacing, I squeezed Peppermint's sides with my knees, and he automatically leapt smoothly over. I breathed a sigh of relief. Lucky for me Peppermint seemed to be an experienced jumper. I barely would have noticed the jump if my eyes had been closed - the transition from air back to the ground had been so slick. Bella laughed.  
  
'Relax, Lily. Peppermint'll take care of you,' she called, steering Mountain to the left to sidestep a large branch. You could tell by taking one look at her up in the saddle that she belonged there. I would even go as far to say that she was born on the back of a horse, her and that animal were so at one with each other, almost like they could read one another's thoughts.  
  
Bella leaned back in the saddle, pulling lightly on the reins and slowing Mountain to a slower pace, eventually dropping into a trot. I did the same with Peppermint.  
  
'You win,' I breathed, wiping the sweat from my brow, and shielding my face from the summer sun.  
  
'Nah, Mountain wins,' she corrected, patting her horse on the back. I observed her scratching him lovingly behind the ears and smiled. Obviously feeling excluded, Peppermint bobbed his head and snorted. I laughed and scratched him behind the ears.  
  
'Yeah, you were great, too.' He bobbed his head a second time, as if in agreement, and Bella and I laughed.  
  
'Come on, we better go cool these guys down,' she said, dismounting and taking Mountain's reins. I halted Peppermint and slid out of my saddle as well, as Bella and I began the walk back up to the stables.  
  
* * *  
  
'Lily, bella! How did you enjoy your ride?' Mrs Figg asked kindly when we arrived back inside the house for drinks. She had been waiting with lemonade.  
  
'Great, thank you,' I said, still slightly breathless. The Italian was all getting a little confusing, considering Mrs Figg had a habit of adding 'bella', which meant 'beautiful', after my name. I wondered whether this meaning had anything to do with Bella's name.  
  
When we were all seated at the table with drinks and biscuits in front of us, Mrs Figg launched into a merry discussion about Hogwarts.  
  
'So how are you liking Hogwarts, Lily bella?'  
  
'It's excellent. But the year's passed so quick!'  
  
'Yes, it has, hasn't it? And Bella tells me your flying instructor is Italian!' she said.  
  
'Yeah, it's lucky, actually. Without Bella I wouldn't have the faintest idea what she's saying, half the time,' I said in all truth. 'She's been teaching me, though.'  
  
Mrs Figg smiled encouragingly at Bella and she beamed.  
  
'So, Lily, tell me. Is this Sirius Bella has been telling me about as nice as he's been described, or has she conveniently left out a few details?' she asked, looking at her daughter. Bella rolled her eyes.  
  
'Sirius and James I perfectly nice,' I said. 'And Remus, too. They're all really nice, and I'm not just saying that because of Bella.'  
  
We continued to discuss school for a little longer until we'd finished our tea and conversation had petered out.  
  
'Mama, Lily and I are going up stairs, OK?'  
  
'That's fine, girls, just fine,' Mrs Figg smiled, standing and clearing the table. Bella led me upstairs.  
  
In comparison to all my friends's houses, mine was really starting to seem quite insignificant. Next to the Potter's mansion and Bella's old, Victorian house it seemed minuscule, but even compared to Joey's it was rather small. Not that it bothered me much - me, my mum and Petunia had all the room we needed in our house, and it was the only place I'd ever known. I wouldn't have dreamed of living anywhere else.  
  
Bella's room was only slightly larger than mine, Her bed was a four poster like the ones at Hogwarts, and was covered in a beautiful lavender coloured cashmere blanket. At the head of it was a pile of ten or so cushions in various shades of purple. Even if I hadn't have already been told by Bella, I would have been able to see, just from that bed, that Bella's favourite colour was purple.  
  
'Gods, your room is the coolest,' I told Bella for the millionth time. Once upon a time I would have chosen Joey's, but she had gotten rid of all her lights and glowy thingys soon after I had left for Hogwarts, leaving her room quite boring compared to how it had once been.  
  
'You think?' Bella asked, standing back to have a look around for herself. 'I'm starting to get a little bored with all the purple. I know it's my favourite colour, but do you think I've over done it?'  
  
'Up to you,' I shrugged. 'But I it's great.'  
  
Bella's room was rather reminiscent of Joey's in more ways than one. Apart form all the lovely drapes and many dream catchers and whatnot hanging from the ceiling, there were also about half a dozen horse pictures covering the walls. But, again, Joey had removed all traces of horses from her room, too. I was beginning to wonder whether her heart had been entirely in her changes, or if it was more a case of what was 'cool'.  
  
That night, Bella and I stayed up long after Mrs Figg had shooed us away from the telly and upstairs to bed. 'Truth or dare?' Bella grinned, flopping down on her bed to face my make- shift one on the floor. I grinned back.  
  
'Truth.'  
  
'Do you have a crush on James?'  
  
By now I had become accustomed to the fact that I was destined to be asked this everytime I opted for 'truth' in this game. It was guaranteed to be the first question I was asked, every single time. And everytime, they got the same answer.  
  
'Nope,' I said, shaking my head and laughing. 'Friends only.'  
  
Bella's eyes narrowed.  
  
'I'll get you one day, Lily.'  
  
'If you say so. Truth or dare?'  
  
'Dare,' she answered automatically, leaning closer as if in anticipation. I should have known that she would pick dare - she always did - but yet again, I was left with a complete blank of a mind, empty of all ideas.  
  
'Um,' I said, straining for something creative but challenging at the same time. My eyes landed on Bella's phone.  
  
If there was one thing that Bella had that I was jealous of, it was a phone in her room. Besides the fact that she had more privacy, the phone in itself was pretty cool. It was some weird warped purple shape, and fitted in well with the rest of her room.  
  
'I dare you to ring Sirius...'  
  
'And?' Bella asked, already reaching for the phone.  
  
'And pretend to be... Jessica.'  
  
'Mornington?'  
  
'Yeah,' I grinned, satisfied that I had found a achievable and amusing challenge.  
  
'How does she talk? Isn't it something like... Oh hi, Siri! You do know who it is, don't you? No? But Siri, it's Jessica!'  
  
I giggled.  
  
'Perfect!'  
  
'Right,' Bella said, taking a deep breath before picking up and dialing. Someone picked up, and she laughed. 'Hi, I was wondering if I could speak to Sirius?'  
  
There was a short pause, and then, 'Thanks.'  
  
Bella looked at me, covered up the mouthpiece and giggled. Sirius had obviously picked up, because she turned serious and uncovered the phone. 'Hey, Siri! How are you? What do you mean, who is this? Sirius, you silly billy - it's Jessica!' I snorted, but clapped a hand over my mouth at the look Bella shot me.  
  
'You know, Jessica Mornington? James's friend.'  
  
I had to laugh at that. And I could just imagine the look that would be on Sirius's face when he heard it.  
  
'How did I get this number? Oh, but James gave it to me! Yuh-huh. No, but it's... but... why? Can't you do that later? Oh, OK then Siri. I'll talk to you later, then. See you!'  
  
Bella hung up the phone and immediately cracked up.  
  
'He couldn't hang up quick enough! Said he had to go out... at nine-thirty at night, I'm sure!'  
  
I laughed and shook my head.  
  
'But Jessica, you're so popular! Why would anyone not want to talk to you?' I asked with mock surprise.  
  
'I know! Usually they're just lining up to speak to me!' Bella exclaimed in the same, exaggerated manner.  
  
Once we had calmed down a little, Bella looked up at me, still breathing hard.  
  
'Truth or dare?'  
  
'Dare,' I said, deciding to try something different. Bella nodded.  
  
'I know this isn't original, but I dare you to do what I just did, but you have to do it to James.'  
  
'OK,' I said, reaching for the phone. It rang a few times before someone picked up.  
  
'Hello?'  
  
It was Hilary.  
  
'Hey, Hils.'  
  
'Lily! What are you doing calling so late?' she asked curiously.  
  
'Actually, I rang to speak to James. Can you get him? But don't tell him it's me, OK? It's a dare.'  
  
'Oh... OK then,' Hilary said, laughing. 'Have fun. I'll go grab him.'  
  
'Ta,' I said, tapping my feet while I waited for James to pick up.  
  
'Hello?' came his voice. I gave Bella the thumbs up sign.  
  
'Hey, James,' I said in what I thought was the same ditzy tone Jessica used.  
  
'Er, hello?' he offered again.  
  
'Don't you know who it is?' I asked, forcing a giggle. Bella was burying her head in her pillow trying not to laugh.  
  
'Um, no. Not really,' James admitted.  
  
'It's Jessica!' I exclaimed, biting my tongue to keep myself from laughing.  
  
'Oh. Hi!' he said, not too enthusiastically. 'Isn't it a little, er, late, to be calling?'  
  
'But Jamsie, it's only nine thirty!' I giggled. That was it, Bella and I couldn't contain ourselves any longer. I lost it, and Bella soon followed.  
  
'Er, Lily?' James asked, obviously recognising my voice.  
  
'Yeah,' I laughed, wiping tears from my eyes.  
  
'Are you OK?' he asked doubtfully.  
  
'Yeah, I'm fine, James. Just ignore all that - it was a dare.'  
  
'I figured. You at Bella's?'  
  
'Mm-hmm,' I said, twisting the phone cord around my finger absent mindedly.  
  
'And when are you coming here to visit me?' he pouted jokingly.  
  
'Why would I want to visit you?' I teased. 'I come to see your sister, not you.'  
  
'You'll make me cry,' he laughed.  
  
'Aww, poor Jamsie,' I cooed.  
  
Just then, Bella nudged me.  
  
'Listen, James - I gotta go, OK?'  
  
'Alright. Have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't do,' he joked.  
  
'I won't,' I laughed. 'Say goodbye to Hilary for me.'  
  
'Will do. Bye. Love you,' he said teasingly.  
  
'Aww, love you too,' I grinned back, and hung up the phone. When I did, Bella was smirking at me with raised eyebrows.  
  
'Lily loves James. Lily loves James. Lily loves -'  
  
'In your dreams, Bella Black,' I sighed, flopping back on the bed.  
  
Yet again, it took Bella awhile process what I had called her.  
  
'It's Figg!' she exclaimed. I shook my head and laughed. We sat in a peaceful silence for a few moments. It was interrupted when an owl landed on the window sil. Bella got up and opened the window and the black bird flew in and landed on the floor, transforming into a snow leopard when it did so.  
  
'Firregaze,' I groaned. He wouldn't leave me alone! I'd tried to leave him home when I'd come to Bella's, but he'd slipped into my luggage as a lizard. Then I'd convinced him to stay outside, but he had to come up and find me again. Why he had attached himself to me I did not know, and although it was rather flattering, it was also a nuisance at times.  
  
'I don't know what you're moaning about,' Bella said, scratching him behind the ears. 'He's gorgeous. Hey, speaking of gorgeous, you haven't replied to Gray yet, have you?'  
  
'No,' I said. In all truth, I had been avoiding thinking about it.  
  
'Are you going to say yes?'  
  
'Probably,' I said shrugging.  
  
'Dare you to,' Bella grinned, and I rolled my eyes.  
  
'Fine. I've got nothing to lose, really.'  
  
Bella crossed the room to her desk and threw me a piece of parchment and a muggle pen. I praised it, rather sick of the quills used at Hogwarts. I sat there for a minute, sucking the end of the pen in thought before writing a one-word reply.  
  
Yes.  
  
~*~*~*~*AUTHORS NOTE*~*~*~*~  
  
Man I am really peeved now coz I just read Order of the Phoenix and it practically contradicts everything I have modeled these characters as, which means I am feeling very wrong in writing this story. I will however continue it, although I am now very put-out. Hmmp! So leave me alone if it takes me awhile to get over the fact that I think the way that, a - JK Rowling has modeled the characters, and b, made Ron a... I won't say for all those that haven't read the book. But let me express my opinion that it is in fact extremely rude and GAY. GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY! And rude (the 'and rude' is from my best friend) oh yeah, and did I mention it's GAY! It's a great and suspenseful book and all, but as I must have expressed a thousand times by now, the whole situation with James and Ron and practically everyone is extremely GAY!!!!! And how dare she... how dare she... do what she did with Sirius!!! :'( Now I have that out of my system, I will try to continue my story the way it was originally intended without getting agro and abandoning it. I will try to shape the characters a little more closely to how they are portrayed in the book, I will however express that James is not going to be... well how he is in the book and Snape is not going to be how he is either.  
  
I was going to post for you all today (Saturday, I have just finished reading OotP - shame, leaves me with nothing to read) but now I've finished the book I'm extremely peeved. Secondly, I had two reviews for the last chapter. TWO!!! And that really encourages me to write, not. *glares* So EXCUSE ME if the chapter is stupid, but I'm not in a very good mood. How dare JK kill... *********** the person that she killed! *breaks down and cries*  
  
If I don't get at least seven reviews for this chapter, I am not going to continue this story. It may seem harsh, but the book totally contradicts my characters and it's making it difficult to write. SO if you really want me to continue, you have some convincing to do.  
  
Right. Review. It *might* lighten my mood. Might.  
  
SezZie  
  
PS - on a lighter note: Amelia Bedelia, I am so SORRY! I saw that you had updated just after I'd published that chapter and it's note, and I felt so bad! It was a great chapter, can't wait for some L/J action! (I'll review, if I remember. I'm not that happy at the moment). And thank YOU for reviewing my last chapter.  
  
And thanks to LadySiri, too. You and Amelia Bedelia were the only two that reviewed. :( 


	22. Golden Summer

For those of you that read part one, scroll down until you see a line of ******** and you'll find part two. Enjoy my lovely flow of ideas in this chapter that enabled me to make it nice and long!  
  
Disclaimer: JK owns Harry Potter indicia, Philip Pullman owns daemons. I own a few characters and pretty much everyone's personalities because they're nothing like what JK has written them as. The plot's mine. Get your greedy eyes off it.  
  
:D  
  
~*~ Golden Summer ~*~  
  
~It's never been like this before  
  
~Although it's quite the same  
  
~But it all seems different somehow  
  
~Nothing much has changed  
  
~I still seem the same person as before  
  
~But it all looks different  
  
~After this Golden Summer  
  
~And the sun's still rises in the sky  
  
~The exact same sun still sets in the night  
  
~And the stars still shine bright  
  
~There's something deeper down  
  
~Something you can't touch  
  
~I can never quite put my finger on it  
  
~It works like magic everywhere  
  
~Nothing goes unseen  
  
~Everything is all different  
  
~After this Golden Summer  
  
And that's how it was after that stay at Bella's. I was officially Gray Parkson's girlfriend (we'd written to each other several times) and, for reasons beyond my comprehension, I was also in the bad books of a certain James Harold Potter.  
  
Again.  
  
All had been well up until my second visit to the Potter mansion. This time I got there by more conventional methods, although James had tried on numerous occasions to convince me to fly again. When I had arrived there, Hilary was 'caught up in some necessary engagement', according to Sarah Potter, who had explained that her daughter would be free in half an hour or so, and that James was upstairs if I wanted to go see him. And what else was there to do to kill half an hour other than visit my dear friend James? Nothing. So, off I set, up the extremely large staircase to where I was pretty sure James's room was. I was actually heading in the wrong direction, but luckily for me James was striding up the hall anyway. He appeared to be rather grumpy, but he looked up at me and smiled when he saw me.  
  
'Hello!' he said cheerfully, holding out his arms for a hug. 'When did you get here?'  
  
'About five minutes ago,' I said, giving him a quick hug before stepping back.  
  
'If you're looking for Hilary, she's caught up in a -'  
  
'- necessary engagement. Yeah, I know,' I said dryly. James laughed.  
  
'I see Sarah hasn't been any more revealing with you than she was with me, then.'  
  
'Nope. So what you been up to?' I asked. James pulled a face.  
  
'Listening to another lecture from Charles about how I really must refrain from my misbehaviours and start focusing on my schoolwork,' he said, rolling his eyes.  
  
'But you're top of your year, aren't you?' I asked, confused.  
  
'Yeah, but if I'm not careful Snivelus might overtake me,' he joked, pretending to be pained at the very thought. 'Hungry? Thirsty?'  
  
'I wouldn't mind a drink,' I said, nodding. We began to walk towards the kitchens. 'So, Sirius isn't here?'  
  
'Nope. He's gone to Majorca on holidays, and has been banned from communicating with me,' James snickered. 'His family seem to think that somehow, if Sirius and I are allowed to converse in anyway, we will end up ruining their holiday. I think they're crazy, myself.' He shrugged. 'Remus is having his little 'invisible time' -'  
  
'His what?'  
  
'Oh, me and Sirius call it his 'invisible time'. Every couple of weeks he just disappears for a few days and makes up all these silly excuses why. Visiting his sick grandma and all that rot, but we reckon his lying. He doesn't want to tell us, though, so we leave him alone. Anyway, that leaves Peter... and, well... I think you can understand why Peter isn't here.'  
  
I often felt sorry for Peter, but it was understandable how everyone tired of him. For a twelve going on thirteen year old, he had the mind of a three year old, attention span of a two year old and the speaking ability of a one year old. He was quite tiresome.  
  
'What do you want to drink?' James asked, pressing a button on a wall next to a large white door.  
  
'What do you have?'  
  
'Anything and everything,' he grinned. 'Soda?' 'A soda is fine,' I smiled, just as a small head appeared through a doggy- door-like flap that had swung open near the bottom of the door.  
  
'What does Master James want?' squeaked the house elf, blinking it's large lamp-like eyes. 'Two sodas, please.'  
  
The head wobbled a nod before disappearing back through the door.  
  
'Hilary was so excited when you were allowed to come. Charles has been giving her a pretty hard time, since she's defied him and everyone he's tried to set her up with. Don't blame her, though. They're all rotten. I'm surprised he hasn't started on me about Paige. If she's really mad at me she'd tell her father, and he'd immediately do something against Charles. But so far I haven't heard of anything of the sort,' he shrugged, bending down to take the two glasses of soda from the house elf, who had reappeared.  
  
'Thanks,' he nodded to the elf, before straightening up and handing me a glass.  
  
'Ta,' I said, taking a sip. 'You know, that's interesting. You'd think the Minister wouldn't be so easily influenced?'  
  
'He isn't, except when it comes to Paige. Her parents have split, you see. So Appleton does everything within his power to give her what she wants, as if to make up for her mother not being there. She used to be a pretty nice kid, but he's turned her into a spoilt brat.'  
  
I nodded my agreement. James sighed and continued.  
  
'She's not as smart as she could be, either. If she really applied herself, she'd be pretty good. But all she cares about is the social side of things and Appleton doesn't stop her. You don't need brains to make it big in high society; just a pretty face and daddy's big bank account. Once upon a time she was top of our class, back in primary school. But over the years and since she's come to Hogwarts, she just gave up caring. Now she doesn't have a clue about anything, which is a shame.'  
  
'Dumb blonde, huh? Lives up to her hair colour.'  
  
'How did you know her hair's not natural?' James asked curiously.  
  
'It's a girl thing. I can just tell,' I said mysteriously, giving a small laugh.  
  
'So, is James Potter actually single for once?'  
  
James feigned a look of horror.  
  
'Lily, what do you take me for? Of course not!'  
  
'Hufflepuff?' I sighed good-naturedly.  
  
'Yup. Same year. Cirstie Simmons. Hot as hell,' he grinned.  
  
'James, you're unbelievable.'  
  
'I hear it everyday,' he said, smirking. I hit him.  
  
'You're not that popular.' 'Haven't you noticed my fan club?' he asked. 'Besides, you wouldn't know, would you? But Lily, I cannot believe that someone like you is still single.' He shook his head.  
  
'And who said I'm single?' I asked, raising an eyebrow. James practically froze.  
  
'Gray... ?' he said slowly.  
  
I nodded.  
  
'You're going out with Gray?'  
  
I nodded again.  
  
'Since when?'  
  
'Since a week ago,' I replied casually.  
  
'Oh,' was his reply as he ran a hand through his hair. 'Congratulations.'  
  
'Thanks,' I said.  
  
I had just been about to ask him how long he had been goin out with Cirstie when Hilary came up the stairs.  
  
'Hey, Lily!'  
  
I spun around and grinned.  
  
'Hey!' I said, hugging her. 'How was your 'necessary engagement'?'  
  
'Oh, that,' Hilary said, rolling her eyes. 'Ridiculous. Come on, let's go up to my room.'  
  
'See you, Ja -' I began, but stopped mid sentence. James had already disappeared. Hilary looked around.  
  
'Temperamental git,' she said darkly. 'Anyone would think he had PMS with all his mood swings lately. Come on, this way to my room.'  
  
* * *  
  
After relocating the room Hilary had now deemed as officially mine and putting my belongings inside, Hilary and I went down for afternoon tea with Sarah and Charles and James. Well, James was supposed to be there. He wasn't, though.  
  
'Where is he?' growled Charles when James still hadn't appeared five minutes later.  
  
'In his room,' Hilary said, as this was obvious.  
  
'Doesn't he know what time it is?' asked Sarah, sounding irritated. She tucked her hair behind an ear.  
  
'He doesn't want to come down because he doesn't want to see you,' she said, looking at her father, 'and get in a riff again. And he said he wants to be by himself for a little while.' Charles and Sarah seemed to take no notice of what she had just said.  
  
'Someone should go get him,' Charles said, standing, but Sarah put her hand on his arm and stopped him.  
  
'There's no use in you going, Charles. You'll only end up arguing,' she said with a sigh. The pair looked at Hilary.  
  
'Oh yeah, like he's really going to talk to me,' she said sarcastically. 'He's in a shi-'  
  
'I will not tolerate that language in this house,' Charles interrupted.  
  
'Can't we start without him?' Hilary asked impatiently.  
  
'No, he has been called to tea and he will come. Whether I have to go get him or not,' he replied sternly, standing again.  
  
I could see that this wasn't going to end nicely if James had another argument with his father, so I spoke.  
  
'I'll go speak to him, if you like,' I said quietly.  
  
Charles and Sarah exchanged glances.  
  
'It's not very app-'  
  
'Oh, James is only twelve for god's sakes, Charles,' Sarah said, frowning. 'He's been raised otherwise, at any rate. They obviously spend time at school together.'  
  
I looked at Hilary, and she rolled her eyes.  
  
'If James is going to talk to anyone, it would be more likely to be Lily. They're like best friends,' she said. 'Besides, before you start thinking along those lines, James has a girlfriend. And although he's many things, stupid is not one of them. Not that he even thinks of Lily in that way, but I can tell exactly what you're thinking. Either let Lily go or leave him alone. It's the only way we're going to get to eat anytime soon.'  
  
'Very well, Lilian. Go and see if you can coax that disobedient son of mine downstairs,' Sarah said despairingly, massaging her temples. I stood and pushed in my chair before walking out of the hall. I didn't know why I was doing this. Why would James listen to me? In fact, I don't think I even wanted him to listen to me. I thought he had every right to spend some time by himself without his parents prying and bossing him. Charles and Sarah were being quite ridiculous.  
  
I reached James's door and knocked hesitantly three times.  
  
'I'm not hungry,' came his call. 'And I don't care what you say, I'm not coming down to tea, so save your breath. And before you start yelling, try and remember that we have a visitor.'  
  
'James?' I asked.  
  
There was a loud bang from inside before the door opened enough for James to look out.  
  
'Lily? I'd thought you were Charles... er, did you want to come in?'  
  
He opened the door wider and I stepped inside. James's room was mostly blue and white. He had posters of his Quidditch team on the wall, and a photo of himself and Sirius. The floor was scattered with clothes and whatnot, and I had to tread carefully so as not to break anything.  
  
'I suppose They sent you up here?' he sighed, flopping back on his bed.  
  
'Actually, I volunteered. I thought you might rather speak to me than your father.'  
  
James gave a bitter laugh.  
  
'Got that one right. He'd just start another argument, like always.'  
  
'So, I never got to ask you. When did this thing with Cirstie come about? You never told me.'  
  
'Do I usually tell you everything?' he asked snappishly. 'You never told me about Gray until today, either.'  
  
'Geez, settle down.'  
  
'No, I don't want to. I'm just sick of everything. I'm sick of everything expecting so much of me. Why can't I just have it easy like everyone else?'  
  
I looked at him, shocked.  
  
'Not everyone else has it easy,' I said quietly. James looked up at me before picking up a ball from the floor and throwing it up and catching it.  
  
'Easier than me, I'd say they do.'  
  
'You have things others don't, James. You may not like it, but don't be ungrateful, either.'  
  
'You sound exactly like Charles!' James said angrily. 'I don't want your lectures! And I think I have every reason to be ungrateful! Do you have two awful parents that couldn't care less about you? No! Do you have to be prepared to lose every friend you make because your father may not like him? No!'  
  
I was feeling slightly hurt that James was taking his anger out on me. I knew I shouldn't have retaliated, but I did.  
  
'You don't have it as hard as you think, James Potter! Is your father dead? No! Do you have a sister that hates your guts and is determined to make your life living hell? No! Did you just lose your best friend because she had to move to New York? No! Are you tight for cash? No! Are you a muggle born, James? Do you get up every morning in fear of what people are going to say about you that day? How they're going to insult you because you aren't a pureblood? No! Do you get that awful, scared feeling in your stomach every time Malfoy enters the room? No! You don't!'  
  
James's eyes were slightly wide in shock. I took a deep breath.  
  
'But I do. You may think you have it hard, James Potter. But you're a lot better off than the rest of us. And do you see everyone else moping around feeling sorry for themselves? No, you don't. We put up with it. Because there's nothing else to do but soldier on. And I'm not saying your life is perfect, James, because I know you do have some bad people and things in your life. But so does everyone else. You aren't the only person with problems, and I think you should stop taking your anger out on everyone else.'  
  
And with that, I walked out of his room, not even bothering to close the door.  
  
When I returned back downstairs, I sat down curtly, tucking my hair behind my ears and scooting forwards in my chair. Hilary laughed at the look on my face.  
  
'Looks like Lily's had a taste of one of James's moods.'  
  
'So you were unsuccessful then, Lilian?' Sarah asked with a slightly amused smile. 'I really thought James would be nicer to you. He does think very highly of you, you know.'  
  
He sure had a funny way of showing it lately. His attitude was on and off like a tap.  
  
'I think it would be best for everyone if he was left alone for now,' was all I said, and it was left at that.  
  
'Very well, he can miss out,' Sarah said, glancing warningly at Charles, who had seemed to have opened his mouth in protest.  
  
'Lavinia, would you pass the scones?'  
  
When I had asked Hilary about her parents's odd way with names, she had explained to me that in the circles of high society there was somewhat of a protocol with names. Apparently there weren't many children form well-off families that called their parents by 'mum' and 'dad'. She'd said that it made them feel old. And, according to Hilary, Charles and Sarah thought that Hilary was not a formal enough name, which was why they often called her Lavinia or Hilary-Lavinia. I personally thought the whole thing was rather ridiculous.  
  
'So what did James say to you before?' Hilary asked curiously once Charles and Sarah had left the room half an hour later. 'You looked pretty annoyed.'  
  
'I was,' I said. 'He's busy feeling sorry for himself. I asked him a simple question, and he snapped at me about everyone always expecting everything from him and how tough his life was, so I decided to remind him that he wasn't the only person with troubles.'  
  
'I would have just ignored him. It's no use talking to him when he gets like that.'  
  
'I probably overreacted - I know I really shouldn't have taken it to heart. But I hate it when people sit there feeling sorry for themselves when there is so many people in the world that are a whole lot worse off,' I sighed.  
  
'He knows you've got it worse than him, Lily. But everyone gets rueful once in awhile. I just wish I knew what's making him so anguished. He's fighting something more than just our parents. He's got something against life lately.'  
  
'I shouldn't have snapped at him.'  
  
'Why not? You don't deserve to have him taking his anger out on you,' Hilary pointed out. 'But he wanted to be left alone. I should have left him.'  
  
'Lily, if you hadn't have gone up there, Charles would have, and then all hell would have broken loose.'  
  
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone appear in the doorway. Soon enough, James lumbered in.  
  
'Any food left?' he sighed.  
  
'You weren't hungry,' Hilary replied airily.  
  
'Quite the contrary, I was starving. But I wasn't about to let Charles know that,' he frowned.  
  
'Listen, Lily - I'm sorry about before, OK? I just wasn't in the mood to be talking to anyone, and that's why I wasn't coming downstairs.'  
  
'So are we in a better mood now?' Hilary asked, still not looking at her brother.  
  
'Yes, mother,' he said satirically.  
  
'Uh-uh-ah,' Hilary tutted, turning around. 'None of that attitude, young man.' She grinned at her brother. He gave her a sardonic smile in return.  
  
'Yes, Hilary. I am perfectly happy.'  
  
'Better,' Hilary nodded, swinging back around to face me. 'So. Where were we?'  
  
I laughed and shrugged.  
  
'We were discussing how Bella somehow talked me into going out with Gray.' I met James's eyes across the room. He smiled at me and I relaxed. Hilary, on the other hand, was rather excited.  
  
'She what? When? Why wasn't I informed of this?'  
  
And so the whole story spilled out, of the game of truth or dare and the events that followed. Hilary and James found the story about Bella's phone call to Sirius rather amusing. 'That's Sirius all right. He can't stand her. Though, neither can I,' James laughed, seeming a lot more cheerful.  
  
'Oh, he couldn't hang up quick enough,' I agreed. 'You, on the other hand, caught me out.'  
  
'How couldn't I?' James said dryly. 'You cracked up laughing after one sentence. And I can recognise your laugh anywhere.'  
  
I met his eyes for a minute.  
  
'You have a nice laugh,' Hilary agreed. 'It's like bells - this loud, ringing sound. Everyone else feels happy when you laugh.'  
  
'If you say so,' I said with amusement.  
  
'So, Lily. You haven't told us what question Bella asked you first,' James said with a smirk, sitting down at the table, obviously tiring from leaning against the wall.  
  
'What do you think?' I asked, rolling my eyes.  
  
'I wouldn't have a clue,' he said innocently. 'You'll have to tell me.'  
  
I looked at Hilary, but she raised her palms.  
  
'How am I supposed to know what you two said if I wasn't there?' she grinned.  
  
'I'm not going to say it, because you two know perfectly well what question she asked me.'  
  
'No we don't,' Hilary and James said together.  
  
'Fine! I give up! She asked me if I liked James!' I said, knowing they weren't going to relent.  
  
'Ah, yes! That question! And what was your answer?' James asked, blinking and smiling charmingly at me. I mock glared at him.  
  
'What do you think I said?'  
  
'That you're madly in love with me?'  
  
'Yep, of course that's what I said. How did you guess?' I said with an air of sarcasm. 'No, James. I'm sorry - but I just don't have those kind of feelings for you,' I grinned.  
  
'It's a shame; we could be beautiful together,' he said, shaking his head sadly. Hilary had been watching us with amusement.  
  
'You two are like a two-person soapie. Days of Our Drearies look out.'  
  
'I reckon,' I agreed. 'Marlina and Stefano, kiss my ass.'  
  
'Lily, did you just say a bad word?' James asked incredulously.  
  
'Got a problem?'  
  
'Nope. Just never heard you say anything bad before. Continue.'  
  
'Thank you.'  
  
'You're welcome. Now, what shall we call our show?' he asked thoughtfully.  
  
'Dunno. What are your suggestions?' I asked.  
  
'Wayne's World?'  
  
'James, it's been done.'  
  
'Ooohhhhhhh, right. The James Potter Late Show?'  
  
'I don't even want to begin to imagine what that show would be about,' I said, closing my eyes and shaking the thought from my head. 'The Tom and Jerry Show?' he offered.  
  
'And that name is sooooooooooo original,' I said sarcastically.  
  
'The James and Lily show?'  
  
'I like it, but my name should go first.'  
  
'Why?' asked James, frowning.  
  
'Because Lily and James sounds better than James and Lily, don't you think, Hils?'  
  
Hilary was, yet again, watching us silently with amusement.  
  
'Oh, yes. Those two names sound perfect next to one another. You know, James, I think you should add your surname in there to make it a little more personal.'  
  
'What, The Lily and James Potter show?' he asked, clueless. Hilary lost it.  
  
'Married now are we, James?' I asked him, raising an eyebrow.  
  
'Homey touches! It needs homey touches!' Hilary said through her laughing. James and I both eyed her warily.  
  
'Is she on drugs?' I whispered to James.  
  
'I didn't think she was, but now I'm not sure.'  
  
'Well, if she's not on drugs, I think maybe she needs some.'  
  
He nodded his head in agreement.  
  
'But if she is, I want some,' he whispered back.  
  
'Maybe she's just cracked it.'  
  
'Yeah - don't worry, Hilary. Where you're going, everyone will believe you.' 'You'll be able to put in all the homey touches you want, too,' I giggled.  
  
'The walls are padded and white,' he added.  
  
'And the coats are three sizes too small.'  
  
Hilary was still laughing.  
  
'I had - a funny - mental - image,' she managed through her giggling. 'You two - married! Husband - and - hic - wife! Homey touches! It needs - hic - homey touches!'  
  
'Hilary, what have you been smoking?' I asked concernedly, wondering what on earth she was on about. When she had finally calmed down, she took a deep breath.  
  
'I had this funny mental picture of you two married, OK? James was sitting in a lounge chair reading the paper and you were dancing around the house telling him that it needed homey touches!'  
  
She bust out laughing again.  
  
I patted her sympathetically on the back.  
  
'There, there, Hilary. We understand your problem.'  
  
James laughed.  
  
'Actually, I'm not sure I do. What delusional delinquent do I have for a sister here?'  
  
'I'm not sure I really want to find out,' I admitted.  
  
'I think her brains are cooked or something,' James said, scrutinizing her.  
  
'What could have done it?' I asked with fake wonder.  
  
'Maybe she was born like this,' he shrugged.  
  
Hilary only laughed harder.  
  
'Would you two stop talking about me like I'm not here?' she said, wiping tears from her eyes.  
  
'I wasn't aware of the fact that she was with us,' I whispered to James.  
  
'Me neither. Do you think it's safe to approach her now?'  
  
'I don't know, it's a risk,' I told him, shaking my head.  
  
'Well, I guess it's one I'll just have to take. I'm going in.'  
  
James got up out of his chair and walked over to Hilary and began tickling her. She let out another cry of laughter before getting up to escape. James chased after her and I followed. We ended up upstairs in one of the spare rooms. Hilary had tried to take refuge in there but in the end only succeeded in cornering herself. So we tickled the hell out of her. 'I give up! I give up! You got me! Stop, please!'  
  
And so we stopped, breathing hard.  
  
'I'm all tickled out,' she sighed, but she had a sly look on her face. 'James, do you remember the start of the year, at Hogwarts, when you mentioned how loyal Potters were to one another?'  
  
'Yeah,' James said slowly.  
  
'Well, I think it's time to for the Potters to unite against that dreadful tickling queen over there,' she said, gesturing at me with her head. James soon got the same sly look on his face, and I opened my eyes wide.  
  
'Oh no, no, please - noooooooooooooooooo!'  
  
They were upon me in an instant. I was backed up against a wall and a cornered little Lily was no match for two tickling Potters.  
  
'Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Stop, please,' I breathed, my stomach hurting from laughing.  
  
'Stop it,' I giggled, but they kept tickling me. I curled myself up into a ball-like shape, trying to escape. James rolled me over to get at my sensitive sides again, but I cried out.  
  
'Ow, ow - my earring, ow!' I hissed, Hilary stopped, but James leaned forward, his face near mine.  
  
'Why should I stop?' he asked.  
  
'Because my earring is hooked,' I said, glaring at him.  
  
'Intermission,' James announced solemnly. 'This tickle war will recommence in two minutes time.'  
  
I sat up, panting hard, and unhooked my earring from my sweater, smiling and shaking my head at the same time.  
  
'You are going to pay for that, James Potter.'  
  
'Really?' he asked, grabbing a hold of my bra strap through my shirt and pulling it back and releasing it.  
  
'Ow!' I yelped. 'James!'  
  
He scrambled away before I could get back at him. Just then, the door was opened. Charles was standing in the doorways.  
  
'What is going on in here?' he demanded. Hilary remained silent. James stood up and faced his father.  
  
'We were playing around,' he said in a tone that implied he was just daring his father to challenge this fact.  
  
'How many times have I told you not to muck around in the rooms?' Charles said in a menacing voice.  
  
'I don't know. Remind me,' James said, not faltering. By now Hilary, too, was staring resistantly at her father. Whether it was because I was present, or because he could sense he was fighting a losing battle, Charles Potter gave into his children.  
  
'I'll let it slide. But don't break anything, and I want it just as you found it when you leave.'  
  
And with that, he disappeared.  
  
* * *  
  
Firregaze was an odd kind of creature. According to James his preferred form was a snow leopard, and at first this had been true. But after I had returned from Bella's, he had taken somewhat of a liking to being a fox. Not that I minded; a fox was much more 'normal' than having a snow leopard prowling the house. But I had just thought it odd that while Firregaze was truthfully a feline, he was suddenly finding comfort in becoming dog-like.  
  
I had quickly become accustomed to having him following me everywhere. Unlike Storm Shadow, who was more of a solitary animal, he loved being around people. When there were several people around he often took the form of a puppy, wagging his tail happily and snapping playfully at people's heels. At night he would curl up on the end of my bed, a sleek red fox.  
  
Out of interest, I had spoken to James about the daemon, wondering if there was any kind of person that specialized in dealing with daemons or just magical beings in particular. He had responded with the details of an uncle of his, saying he wasn't quite sure what he did exactly but he was bound to know about daemons.  
  
I had no idea what had compelled me to ask James over Bella, or Hilary. It might have been the fact that he was the smartest in his year, or because he knew a lot of people, or maybe just because I had just been turning to James a lot lately, when his moods weren't getting in the way. I had always felt guilty when I called the Potters's house to ask for James and Hilary answered the phone. I knew I really had no reason to, but maybe it was just because our friendship seemed more likely than James's and mine - we were both the same age, and female. But despite the strangeness of the situation, there was nothing anyone could do to deny the fact that James and I were very close. It had just happened.  
  
James had offered to go visit his uncle with me, and I had managed to convince my mother. So there I was, Firregaze hopping about my feet as a blue jay, standing on the doorstep of number twenty two Mundareen Avenue. James was knocking on the door and I stood a little back, not feeling entirely welcome on a stranger's property. A man in his late forties answered the door. He had greying hair and eyes the same startling blue as James's.  
  
This man was Raul Potter.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
* * *  
  
Raul had been rather ecstatic to see Firregaze - he spent a great deal of time fussing over him, and he became a puppy in an instant, happily lapping up all the attention.  
  
'You'll have to excuse excitement, children - it's just that I haven't seen a daemon for many years. They're becoming quite rare. Fascinating creatures, aren't they?'  
  
I nodded my head in agreement. Firregaze was now a fox again, and curled affectionately around my feet. I leaned down to pat his head.  
  
'I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but -'  
  
'Please, call me Raul,' he said politely. I smiled.  
  
'I'm sorry to bother you, Raul, but I was just curious to know more about daemons, and why he seems to have attached himself to me...'  
  
James came and sat next to me on the couch.  
  
'I was rather surprised when James had told me there was a daemon at Hogwarts,' Raul said. 'And one that had no owner, too. It is uncommon for a daemon not to attach itself to someone.'  
  
'But why Lily?' James asked curiously. 'He's been at Hogwarts for ages - he must have met hundreds of kids.'  
  
'Firregaze would not have attached himself to you without a reason,' Raul told me. 'What that reason is, I do not know.'  
  
'If Firregaze is a snow leopard, how come he's been a fox so often lately?' I asked.  
  
'Because, Lily, if I'm correct, you yourself are a fox. In fact, Firregaze tells me he's never seen someone more like a fox in his lifetime.'  
  
I gaped.  
  
'You can talk to him?'  
  
'No, but he can communicate with us.'  
  
'How? He can't speak, can he?' James asked, puzzled.  
  
'Actually, James - it's more a case of people can't listen. We would all be able to understand a lot more if we simply listened,' the man said kindly. 'Firregaze is a fox because you are one, and you are his human. Shape shifters that spend a lot of time with a human are eventually prone to take on the form of whatever the human is by nature.'  
  
'Oh,' I said, for lack of anything else. It was rather a lot of information to be absorbing.  
  
'So everyone has an animal nature?'  
  
Raul nodded. 'A shape shifter is a perfect way to discover your true nature, in fact. We know you're a fox, Lily... but James... put your hand on Firregaze, James.'  
  
Looking slightly confused, James placed a hand on Firregaze's back.  
  
Firregaze quivered slightly at the touch, but didn't draw back. After a few moments he darted a step to the side and stood still. Raul leant down towards him.  
  
'What is he, boy? You know, don't you?'  
  
Firregaze flicked his tail in spasms and tossed his head a few times before starting at a short trot. Soon enough he was a stag with a handsome head of antlers, bobbing his head gracefully. Without meaning to I took a sharp intake of breath. James was watching Firregaze with awe.  
  
'Yes... it portrays you well, doesn't it James? Rather proud and daunting, aren't you?'  
  
'Awesome,' was all James said.  
  
'If you don't mind me asking, what animal are you?' I asked, fearing it was a rather personal question.  
  
'An owl,' Raul replied, extending his arm. Firregaze threw his head up slightly and suddenly he was a black owl with a white breast, mid-air. He landed gracefully on Raul's arm.  
  
'My form is obviously rather prominent to him, considering I am capable of transforming myself.'  
  
'You're an animagus?' James asked, impressed.  
  
'Not an animagus, but a daimonagus. Same concept, though. I have already told you that every human possesses an animal nature. The skill of an animagus is to make use of the connection between mind and spirit - human and animal - which is strengthened by magic. The animagus process is difficult and there are some people unable to transform, even with it's magic strengthening the bond. But as there are those devoid of the ability, there are those advanced in it as well. Thus there are a select few witches and wizards capable of making the transformation without first becoming an animagus.'  
  
'And you're one of those?' I breathed, still rather dazed by this revelation of information.  
  
'Yes. An Firregaze is too, in his own way. Elite animals are born with his ability to change shape.'  
  
I exchanged a glance with James. We were both in awe of what we had learned.  
  
'You have found a loyal friend and faithful protector in coming across Firregaze, Lily. It is an honour to be chosen by a daemon.'  
  
I nodded.  
  
'I don't need to ask if you will take good care of him - I can already tell he loves you dearly, and a daemon never chooses an unworthy friend. I would take his acceptance of both your friendships as a compliment, you as well James. He obviously likes you.' 'So Firregaze is just really a normal snow leopard? Will he live longer?' I asked.  
  
'Possibly, as shape shifting is a gift that can get an animal out of tight situations. Imagine being able to have access to every weapon an animal could possess - teeth, claws, poison. He can transform in an instant to whatever shape fits his mood or situation. In a way, it gives him nine lives.'  
  
* * *  
  
The rest of the summer passed relatively quickly. I had a wonderful time - exploring London and Diagon Alley with my friends, writing long letters to Joey and working up humungous phone bills, not just talking to her but to Bella and Hilary as well, plus the odd one to James. Two weeks into vacation and Hilary went to San Francisco with her parents on a business trip for a couple of weeks, and James came backwards and forwards between my house and Remus's, mostly because Remus had other arrangements but it wasn't quite appropriate for James to be sleeping at my house. We had discovered, though, that Remus didn't live too far away from me, therefore James could easily catch the bus to my house if Remus and his family were busy. So I spent even more time with James then.  
  
We were definitely getting closer. But before you go getting any ideas, it was purely friendship and nothing more - as odd as it seemed for a male and female to be such close friends.  
  
On one of the last days of summer I took James to a movie, which was something he had never done. He enjoyed it immensely - the whole notion of buying popcorn and watching the movie, even buying tickets, was strangely fascinating for him. He received several looks for his obvious ignorance of the way things worked, but once he had noticed this he had done a good job of hiding his lack of knowledge.  
  
Afterwards we headed back to my place where James had another go on the trampoline while I experimented with Firregaze, trying to see if he could fetch a ball. When I asked him to go get it he had given me a rather indignant look, and I had realised it was more a matter of whether he wanted to fetch a ball.  
  
The rest of the summer was much like that - once the Potters had returned James went home. I spent another few days at their house and Bella's, plus they came over to mine. I caught up with René and Melody, too.  
  
All in all, it really was a golden summer.  
  
***************************  
  
there we go - nice long chapter  
  
here a summary since sum1 wanted one to refresh their memory:  
  
Summary of Year One:  
  
Lily discovers she is a witch, parts with her best friend and goes to Hogwarts, where she meets Bella, Hilary, James, Sirius, Remus and some others. She's bullied by Malfoy, but is overcoming this with the help of her friends and the daemon Firregaze, who has mysteriously appointed himself Lily's 'protector'. During the year she attends a ball with James, has a few parties with her new and old friends, solved a mystery involving James and his ex-girlfriend Paige, played a few pranks and said goodbye to her best friend. There's been laughs and tears along the way, but she's always had her friends to count on, no matter what. Now, on to their second year...  
  
SezZie  
  
PS. I am sooooooooooooooooooo excited about the next chapter! Lol. I've already got the main idea for it and I've written some out.......... but wait for it......... we finally have a plot beginning to form! Yay! Lol. And I wrote another Sorting Hat song. It took me forever and I'm pretty proud of it so you have to tell me what you think of it. AND YOU BETTER LIKE IT COZ IT TOOK ME AGES AND AGES TO GET IT RIGHT! Lol. I'm calm.  
  
Well, laters. 


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